Stress engineering at the nanometer scale: Two-component adlayer stripes

TL;DR

This study demonstrates the creation and control of highly ordered, tunable stress-induced stripe patterns in a two-component Pd-O monolayer on W(110), with potential for stable nanostructure applications across temperature ranges.

Contribution

It introduces a method to produce and maintain ordered nanopatterns at various temperatures using stress engineering and a continuum model theory.

Findings

Pattern period down to 16 nm

Controlled pattern orientation and stability

Agreement with continuum model and DFT calculations

Abstract

Spontaneously formed equilibrium nanopatterns with long-range order are widely observed in a variety of systems, but their pronounced temperature dependence remains an impediment to maintain such patterns away from the temperature of formation. Here, we report on a highly ordered stress-induced stripe pattern in a two-component, Pd-O, adsorbate monolayer on W(110), produced at high temperature and identically preserved at lower temperatures. The pattern shows a tunable period (down to 16 nm) and orientation, as predicted by a continuum model theory along with the surface stress and its anisotropy found in our DFT calculations. The control over thermal fluctuations in the stripe formation process is based on the breaking/restoring of ergodicity in a high-density lattice gas with long-range interactions upon turning off/on particle exchange with a heat bath.