Abstract
The Si(001)2×1 surface is expected to undergo a phase transition from single to double-atonic-height steps with increasing angle of miscut. Here we show that this transition is quite different than previously believed, involving something like a ‘‘devil’s staircase’’ of transitions in a mixed phase consisting of a complex sequence of single and double steps. Even at low angles, where only single steps occur, the areas of 2×1 and 1×2 regions are unequal, in agreement with recent experimental results.
- Received 18 March 1991
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.67.465
©1991 American Physical Society
