AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Surface Science Thursday Sessions
       Session SS1-ThA

Paper SS1-ThA4
Bustling Bi/Cu(111): Phase Transitions and Atomic Structure

Thursday, November 3, 2005, 3:00 pm, Room 202

Session: Transport and Structural Stabilization of Surfaces
Presenter: R. van Gastel, University of Twente, The Netherlands
Authors: R. van Gastel, University of Twente, The Netherlands
D. Kaminski, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
E. Vlieg, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
B. Poelsema, University of Twente, The Netherlands
Correspondent: Click to Email
We have combined surface X-ray diffraction (SXRD) and low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) to investigate atomic structure and pattern formation in the Bi/Cu(111) system. Deposition of submonolayer amounts of Bi on Cu(111) leads to the formation of a two-phase system consisting of a surface alloy phase and an overlayer phase that forms patterns similar to those previously observed in the Pb/Cu(111) system.@footnote 1,2@ The patterns however exhibit several phase transitions that are unseen in Pb/Cu(111). Through SXRD measurements investigating the structure of the different surface phases,@footnote 3@ the origin of these transitions can be pinpointed to changes in the atomic structure of those phases. A rich variety of surface phases, covering the whole spectrum, from solid to liquid to lattice-gas-like and from ordered to disordered is observed. In LEEM movies, structural contrast between e.g. solid and liquid Bi overlayers lets us image the pattern dynamics and phase transitions directly. The pattern dynamics and the dramatic changes that occur during the transitions are analyzed to extract information and quantify the thermodynamic quantities that control the rich phase behavior in this system. @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@ R. Plass, N.C. Bartelt and G.L. Kellogg, J. Phys. Cond. Mat. 14 (2002), 4227.@footnote 2@ R. van Gastel, R. Plass, N.C. Bartelt and G.L. Kellogg, Phys. Rev. Lett. 91 (2003), 055503.@footnote 3@ D. Kaminski, P. Poodt, E. Aret, N. Radenovic and E. Vlieg, Surf. Sci. 575 (2005), 233.