TY - JOUR
T1 - Vacancy diffusion mediated dynamics of domain boundaries on Ge(111)- c(2×8)
AU - Hengst, Arend-Jan R.
AU - Wang, Ying
AU - Vonk, Kevin
AU - Zandvliet, Harold J.W.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 American Physical Society.
PY - 2024/7/15
Y1 - 2024/7/15
N2 - Domain boundaries often play a pivotal role in surface dynamics and surface phase transitions. In this study we scrutinize the dynamics of domain boundaries on the Ge(111)-c(2×8) surface using scanning tunneling microscopy. The dynamics of these domain boundaries, which are aligned along the (1-10) directions, is governed by the diffusion of vacancies. The hop rate of a vacancy at a domain boundary is more than one order of magnitude larger than the hop rate of a vacancy in a pristine c(2×8) domain. The diffusion pathway of a single vacancy along the domain boundary involves the formation of two, more mobile, semivacancies. The probability that these two semivacancies rejoin is very likely, but there is also a chance that the two semivacancies diffuse away from each other. This scenario provides a logical explanation of why single vacancies occasionally exhibit unusually long displacements along the domain boundary.
AB - Domain boundaries often play a pivotal role in surface dynamics and surface phase transitions. In this study we scrutinize the dynamics of domain boundaries on the Ge(111)-c(2×8) surface using scanning tunneling microscopy. The dynamics of these domain boundaries, which are aligned along the (1-10) directions, is governed by the diffusion of vacancies. The hop rate of a vacancy at a domain boundary is more than one order of magnitude larger than the hop rate of a vacancy in a pristine c(2×8) domain. The diffusion pathway of a single vacancy along the domain boundary involves the formation of two, more mobile, semivacancies. The probability that these two semivacancies rejoin is very likely, but there is also a chance that the two semivacancies diffuse away from each other. This scenario provides a logical explanation of why single vacancies occasionally exhibit unusually long displacements along the domain boundary.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85198010609&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevB.110.035406
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevB.110.035406
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85198010609
SN - 2469-9950
VL - 110
JO - Physical Review B
JF - Physical Review B
IS - 3
M1 - 035406
ER -