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Brownian Motion and Coarsening of Domain Boundaries on (7×7)-Si(111)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

Pita Atala ,
R. J. Phaneuf ,
N. C. Barteltl ,
W. Swiech  and
E. Bauer
Pita Atala
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
R. J. Phaneuf
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 Laboratory for Physical Sciences, College Park, Maryland 20740
N. C. Barteltl
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
W. Swiech
Affiliation:
Physikalisches Institut, Technische Universität Clausthal, D-3392 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany
E. Bauer
Affiliation:
Physikalisches Institut, Technische Universität Clausthal, D-3392 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany
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Abstract

We have used low-energy electron microscopy to investigate the real-time motion of (7×7) out-of-phase domain boundaries in the (7×7) reconstruction on vicinal Si(111), just below the phase transition temperature. As a function of time, the domain boundaries wander and coalesce in one-dimension, parallel to the step edges. We have established that the motion is consistent with the statistical problem of a random walk in the presence of absorbing barriers and have measured the diffusion coefficient for domain boundary wandering. The average distance between domain boundaries becomes large as they coarsen, consequently energetic interactions are not significant in determining their arrangement on this surface.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 404: Symposium J – In Situ Electron and Tunneling Microscopy of Dynamic Processes , 1995 , 117
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1996

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