The sublimation of a {111} surface at 600C was studied by means of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy in the profile-image geometry. The sublimation involved the simultaneous desorption of Cd and Te atoms from the outermost layer, and occurred via a kink-step propagation mechanism. The rate of sublimation was found to be independent of the presence of twins in the film. It was also found that relaxation affected only the outermost atomic layer, which attained its equilibrium form at a {111} interplanar spacing which was 13% greater than the corresponding bulk value.

Direct observation of surface sublimation and relaxation in CdTe{111} films by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy R.C.Picu, J.Rankin, A.F.Schwartzman: Philosophical Magazine Letters, 1999, 79[5], 241-7