Slow dynamics of stepped surfaces

Anna Chame; Sylvie Rousset; Hans P. Bonzel; Jacques Villain

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arXiv · cond-mat/9912188

Slow dynamics of stepped surfaces

Anna Chame·Sylvie Rousset·Hans P. Bonzel·Jacques Villain

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Abstract

Two kinds of configurations involving steps on surfaces are reviewed. The first one results from an initially planar vicinal surface, i.e. slightly deviating from a high-symmetry (001) or (111) orientation. In some cases, these surfaces separate into domains of different orientations by a mechanism which is very similar to phase separation in mixtures. The domain size initially increases with time and goes to a finite limit, whose value is related to elastic phenomena. The second kind of configurations results from making grooves in a high-symmetry surface. The surface smoothes out and takes an intermediate shape with facet-like hills and valleys, which are the source of a controversy which we try to clarify as much as possible.

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Anna Chame, Sylvie Rousset, Hans P. Bonzel, Jacques Villain. 1999-12-10. Slow dynamics of stepped surfaces. https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/9912188

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