Melting of solid nanoscale films with free surfaces

In the framework of the mean-field Landau theory and the Lindemann melting criterion, a novel method has been applied to study the properties of thin solid films. A novel profile of the order parameter in thin solid films of nanoscale thicknesses has been obtained. In terms of this method, it was shown that surface ordering of thin solid films affects their physical properties. A dependence of the order parameter on the reduced film thickness was obtained. It was shown that the melting temperature of a thin film with free surfaces decreases with decreasing film thickness. Nevertheless, it was found that there was no depression of the melting point due to the reduced thickness of films at least down to 15 nm. The results are in good agreement with available experimental data.