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Updated: May 12, 2026

Cooling Rate Dependent Ellipsometry Measurements to Determine the Dynamics of Thin Glassy Films
Published on: January 26, 2016
Can a stable glass be superheated? Modelling the kinetic stability of coated glassy films
Ian Douglass1, Peter Harrowell
1School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Abstract:
The fabrication of ultra-stable glass films by vapour deposition and their subsequent front-like response to annealing are both manifestations of the enhancement of dynamics at the amorphous surface. We use the facilitated kinetic Ising model to model the behaviour of ultra-stable amorphous films when a coating is applied that suppresses the dynamics at the film surface. The consequences of this manipulation of the film include glass films that can be heated to temperatures in excess of the glass transition without transforming into the liquid, the possibility of direct visualization of the spatial distribution of intrinsic dynamic heterogeneities, and the possibility of using surface treatment to engineer relaxation of these glass films.
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