Two-dimensional nanoscale self-assembly on a gold surface by spinodal decomposition

• Published in: Physical review letters Vol. 91; no. 6; p. 066101
• Main Authors: Schuster, Rolf, Thron, Dominik, Binetti, Marcello, Xia, Xinghua, Ertl, Gerhard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 08.08.2003

The structure formation upon spinodal decomposition of a two-dimensional model system, a Au adatom gas on a Au(111) surface, was observed in situ by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). A thermodynamically unstable state was prepared by applying microsecond voltage pulses to the STM tip in an electr...