A line defect was detected, using high-resolution low-energy electron diffraction, at the temperature-driven c(2 x 2) to (2 x 1) phase transition on the (001) surface. This was the formation of parallel domain walls in the (2 x 1) phase. The domain walls arose because of spontaneous ordering of Cd surface vacancies in the Cd-terminated top layer, and produced an effective relaxation of surface strain.

Domain Wall Formation at the c(2 x 2)-(2 x 1) Phase Transition of the CdTe(001) Surface. H.Neureiter, S.Tatarenko, S.Spranger, M.Sokolowskii: Physical Review B, 2000, 62[4], 2542-5