Nucleation process in Cu3Au(001) surface region around the order-disorder phase transition

The element distribution in the Cu3Au(001) surface region has been determined on the basis of directional Auger electron spectroscopy polar profiles measurements and interpreted in the frame of thermodynamic approach formulated for the inhomogeneous systems by using the Neel sublattices concept. Both approaches, experimental and theoretical, allowed us to present the temperature dependence of element concentration in a layer resolved mode. The wide temperature range explored in the experiment ensured the large data base for the theoretical analysis which enabled us to propose the distribution of intra-layer and inter-layer pairwise interactions leading to proper temperature dependence of segregation profiles in the surface region. This kind of interaction distribution can be understood as strain induced. (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3520147]