Phase and Order Transitions during and after Film Deposition

The transitions between phases and different states of crystallographic order in films are systematically examined. The experimental data of various workers are comprehensively connected and interpreted. By combining this evidence with theoretical considerations, the many analogies between two- and three-dimensional phase diagrams are shown. The conditions for the preferential nucleation of liquid or solid islands are given. The crystallographic order diagram pertains to equilibrium growth transitions also, and the state of order of the nuclei can be determined accordingly. These considerations yield a logical explanation for the phase and order transitions in films.