Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Probing C84-embedded Si Substrate Using Scanning Probe Microscopy and Molecular Dynamics
Published on: September 28, 2016
Dynamics of the silicon (111) surface phase transition
1Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA. jhannon@andrew.cmu.edu
Abstract:
The manner in which phase transformations occur in solids determines important structural and physical properties of many materials. The main problem in characterizing the kinetic processes that occur during phase transformations is the difficulty of observing directly, in real time, the growth of one phase at the expense of another. Here we use low-energy electron microscopy to study the real-time kinetics of a phase transformation confined to the silicon (111) surface. We show that the transformation is governed by the rate at which material is exchanged between the first layer of the crystal and the surface. In bulk phase transformations, the dynamics are usually governed either by the rate of diffusion of material to the phase boundaries or by the structural rearrangement of atoms at the phase boundary. The kinetic process that we have identified here has no bulk analogue and leads to domain dynamics that are qualitatively different from those expected for bulk systems.
More Related Videos
11:33All-electronic Nanosecond-resolved Scanning Tunneling Microscopy: Facilitating the Investigation of Single Dopant Charge Dynamics
Published on: January 19, 2018
06:57Theoretical Calculation and Experimental Verification for Dislocation Reduction in Germanium Epitaxial Layers with Semicylindrical Voids on Silicon
Published on: July 17, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Phase Transitions
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
Phase Diagram
Fermi Level Dynamics
Electron affinity in semiconductors refers to the energy gap between the minimum of its conduction band and the vacuum level and it is a critical parameter in determining how easily a semiconductor can accept additional electrons.
The work...
Phase Transitions