Preferential annihilation of mobile surface vacancies at the ends, rather than at the sides, of dimer rows led to a new non-equilibrium mono-domain phase of (100) which was not accessible by means of epitaxial growth, but which was stable at temperatures of about 450C. These results arose from a tunnelling electron microscopic study of the layer-by-layer removal of Si from (100) surfaces under 225eV Xe-ion bombardment.

P.Bedrossian, T.Klitsner: Physical Review Letters, 1992, 68[5], 646-9