title: Two-dimensional nanoscale self-assembly on a gold surface by spinodal decomposition.
abstract: 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 electrochemical system, causing the random dissolution of Au atoms from the uppermost monolayer. Interconnected, labyrinthine island patterns were formed at Au coverages between 0.4 and 0.9 monolayer with dominating length scales lambda(m) of the order of a few nanometers.
authors.affiliation: Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Faradayweg 4-6, D-14195 Berlin, Germany. schuster@fhi-berlin.mpg.de
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thron
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Binetti
authors.forename: Xinghua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ertl