Condensed Matter and Materials Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
Phys Rev Lett. 2012 Jun 29;108(26):265701. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.265701. Epub 2012 Jun 26.
We use linear stability theory and numerical simulations to show that spontaneous phase separation in elastically coherent solids is fundamentally altered by the presence of free surfaces. Because of misfit stress relaxation near surfaces, phase separation is mediated by unique surface modes of spinodal decomposition that have faster kinetics than bulk modes and are unstable even when spinodal decomposition is suppressed in the bulk. Consequently, in the presence of free surfaces, the limit of metastability of supersaturated solid solutions of crystalline materials is shifted from the coherent to chemical spinodal.
我们运用线性稳定性理论和数值模拟表明，在弹性相干固体中，自由表面的存在从根本上改变了自发相分离。由于表面附近的失配应力松弛，相分离由独特的表面旋节分解模式介导，这些模式的动力学比体相模式更快，即使在体相抑制旋节分解的情况下也是不稳定的。因此，在自由表面存在的情况下，过饱和晶体材料固溶体的亚稳极限从相干相移动到化学旋节。
