TY - JOUR

T1 - Phase transitions in two-dimensional anisotropic chain systems

T2 - Submonolayers of Sr adsorbed on Mo(112)

AU - Fedorus, A.

AU - Godzik, G.

AU - Koval, V.

AU - Naumovets, A.

AU - Pfnür, Herbert

N1 - Funding information: We thank I. Lyuksyutov for helpful discussions. Support by the Volkswagen-Stiftung and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is gratefully acknowledged.

PY - 2000/7/20

Y1 - 2000/7/20

N2 - Ordered phases of Sr on Mo(112) and their phase transitions have been studied up to one physical monolayer as a function of both coverage and temperature using optical LEED. Starting at a coverage of 0.07, islands of a p(8 × 1) structure are formed at 100 K, which coexist with a disordered lattice gas. The formation of incommensurate structures with properties of floating solids starts already at coverages slightly above the completed p(8 × 1) commensurate structure (θ=0.125). The latter itself behaves like a floating solid and undergoes a depinning transition at T ≈ 125 K, similar to the next commensurate structure, p(5 × 1), which is formed at θ=0.20. Floating solids are found in the whole coverage range between 0.12 and 0.23. At higher coverage coexistence between p(5 × 1) and c(2 × 2) structures is found, which melt by forming intermediate two-dimensional eutectics, i.e. coexistence regions with their melts, with an eutectic point at θ=0.37, Teu = 310 K. Close to a coverage of 0.5 a homogenous phase is formed, which disorders by a continuous phase transition, as explicitly tested by determination of the critical exponents β of the order parameter and ν of the correlation length. It is shown that the system belongs to the universality class of the Ising model. An incommensurate phase is again formed at higher coverage due to uniaxial compression of the layers. The behaviour at low coverages can be qualitatively understood assuming lateral interactions along the furrows mainly caused by dipole-dipole interactions and electrostatic screening of the adsorbate induced charge redistribution.

AB - Ordered phases of Sr on Mo(112) and their phase transitions have been studied up to one physical monolayer as a function of both coverage and temperature using optical LEED. Starting at a coverage of 0.07, islands of a p(8 × 1) structure are formed at 100 K, which coexist with a disordered lattice gas. The formation of incommensurate structures with properties of floating solids starts already at coverages slightly above the completed p(8 × 1) commensurate structure (θ=0.125). The latter itself behaves like a floating solid and undergoes a depinning transition at T ≈ 125 K, similar to the next commensurate structure, p(5 × 1), which is formed at θ=0.20. Floating solids are found in the whole coverage range between 0.12 and 0.23. At higher coverage coexistence between p(5 × 1) and c(2 × 2) structures is found, which melt by forming intermediate two-dimensional eutectics, i.e. coexistence regions with their melts, with an eutectic point at θ=0.37, Teu = 310 K. Close to a coverage of 0.5 a homogenous phase is formed, which disorders by a continuous phase transition, as explicitly tested by determination of the critical exponents β of the order parameter and ν of the correlation length. It is shown that the system belongs to the universality class of the Ising model. An incommensurate phase is again formed at higher coverage due to uniaxial compression of the layers. The behaviour at low coverages can be qualitatively understood assuming lateral interactions along the furrows mainly caused by dipole-dipole interactions and electrostatic screening of the adsorbate induced charge redistribution.

KW - Low energy electron diffraction

KW - Molybdenum

KW - Phase transitions

KW - Strontium

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0000824595&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/S0039-6028(00)00545-8

DO - 10.1016/S0039-6028(00)00545-8

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:0000824595

VL - 460

SP - 229

EP - 242

JO - Surface Science

JF - Surface Science

SN - 0039-6028

IS - 1-3

ER -