1.
Phys Rev Lett
; 123(18): 186102, 2019 Nov 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31763908
ABSTRACT
We have directly imaged the spontaneous formation of metastable surface phase domains on GaAs(001) during Langmuir evaporation. Eventually, these metastable phases transform to the thermodynamically stable parent phase, producing a dynamic phase coexistence with a temperature dependent, time-averaged coverage. Monte Carlo simulations are used to identify the key kinetic processes and investigate the interplay between phase metastability and evolving surface morphology. This is used to explain the measured temperature dependence of the time-averaged coverage.