Structural transitions in ultrathin binary mixture films : an interplay between finite size and surface effects

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Abstract
We propose a simple model for the homogeneous-stratified transitions observed in 3He-4He binary mixture films using the third sound technique. A continuous Landau-Ginzburg model with a bulk term containing both atom-atom and superfluid contributions plus surface and interface terms with in addition the constraint of conservation of helium 3 and helium 4 is presented and its predictions compared to experiments. Our results suggest precise pictures for the different film structures deduced from the analysis of experiments and stress the intricate interplay between bulk, surface and interface energies as occurs in this range of thicknesses (3 atomic layers ≤ d ≤ 20 atomic layers). The behaviour of these films appears to be intermediate between two and three dimensional and points at the importance of finite size effects

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