Linear stability analysis of phase separation in nanoscale systems

摘要

A linear stability analysis of the early stages of spinodal decomposition in nanospheres has been performed. The dominant decomposition mode is described in terms of a stability map, which defines regions of the fastest growing composition modulation in a space of particle radius and k_m, where k_m is the most unstable mode in the bulk system. It is shown that at sufficiently small particle size the first unstable mode is the non-radially symmetric first-order spherical harmonic. The analysis is extended to the case of nanowires and the interplay between decomposition along the wire length vs. radial and angular perturbations is discussed.