Epitaxial alloyed films out of the bulk stability domain: Surface structure and composition of Ni3Al and NiAl films on a stepped Ni(1Â 1Â 1) surface

It also appears that the value of θc depends on the morphology of the Ni(1 1 1) substrate, increasing from θc = 4.5 ML for a flat surface to θc = 10 ML for a surface with a miscut of 0.4°. This could be directly related to the presence of steps, which favour Ni-Al interdiffusion.