Surface phase diagram and temperature induced phase transitions of Sn/Cu(100)

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Room temperature deposition of Sn on Cu(100) gives rise to a rich variety of surface reconstructions in the submonolayer coverage range. In this work, we report a detailed investigation on the phases appearing and their temperature stability range by using low-energy electron diffraction and surface X-ray diffraction. Previously reported reconstructions in the submonolayer range are p(2 x 2) (for 0.2 ML), p(2 x 6) (for 0.33 ML), (3 root 2 x root 2)R45 degrees (for 0.5 ML), and c(4 x 4) (for 0.65 ML). We find a new phase with a ((-4)(0) (2)(4)) structure for a coverage of 0.45 ML. Furthermore, we analyze the temperature stability of all phases. We find that two phases exhibit a temperature induced reversible phase transition: the (3 root 2 x root 2)R45 degrees phase becomes (root 2 x root 2)R45 degrees phase above 360 K, and the new ((-4)(0) (2)(4)) phase becomes p(2 x 2) also above 360 K. The origin of these two-phase transitions is discussed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.