Evolution of vicinal Si(001) from double- to single-atomic-height steps with temperature

Abstract
We have measured the evolution with temperature of the structure of vicinal Si(001) from double- to single-atomic-height steps using high-resolution low-energy electron diffraction. The observed temperature dependence is qualitatively explained with a model that describes this system in analogy with mixing equilibrium between two states, of which one is n-fold degenerate.