Disordering kinetics in surface overlayers

The disordering kinetics of the O/W(110)-p(2x1)+p(2x2) overlayer, prepared initially in a well-ordered state, are studied with low-energy electron diffraction profile analysis. The decay of the peak intensity, used as a measure of the growing disorder, cannot be fitted to a power law as in the case of ordering processes. The full width at half maximum of the time-dependent structure factor S(q,t) is constant with time, which suggests that the average size remains constant. Diffusion activation energy extracted for the temperature dependence of the disordering is 1.0±0.05 eV, which is different from the value of 0.6 eV measured in ordering processes. The difference can be explained by the adsorbate-adsorbate interactions, which contribute differently to the diffusion barrier, in the two experiments