The Atomistic Nature of Crystal Growth

1. Introduction.- 2. Thermodynamics.- 3. Statistical Thermodynamics.- 4. Equilibrium Between Large Phases; The Vapor Pressure of Solids.- 5. The Surface Tension of Crystals.- 6. Equilibrium Between Large Three- and Two-Dimensional Phases: Adsorption Phenomena.- 7. Thin Films, Surface Roughening, and Surface Alloys.- 8. Equilibrium Between a Small and a Large Phase.- 9. Equilibrium Shapes of Crystals.- 10. Homogeneous Nucleation; the Phase Approach.- 11. Homogeneous Nucleation; the Chemical Approach.- 12. Nucleation on a Foreign Substrate.- 13. Some Specific Cases of Nucleation.- 14. Time-Dependent Nucleation Kinetics.- 15. Elementary Processes on the Surface of a Crystal.- 16. Growth of a "Perfect" K Face.- 17. Growth of an F Face of a Perfect Crystal.- 18. Growth of an F Face of an Imperfect Crystal.- 19. Conclusion.- Appendices.- A. Legendre Transformations.- B. Method of Lagrange Multipliers.- C. Euler's Theorem.- D. Stirling's Approximation.- E. Maximum Term Approximation.- References.

From the reviews of the first edition:

"Crystal nucleation and crystal growth are often treated in different ways in the specialized literature, depending on whether the dominant discipline is physics or chemical physics. This book by B. Mutaftschiev (Paris VI and VII) is a welcome attempt to unify both these approaches. ... The main appeal of this book is certainly the broad range of topics covered, many of which never appeared in book-form before. ... All by all, this book provides a useful addition to the existing literature on these difficult topics." (Marc Baus, Physicalia, Vol. 38 (4), 2002)

"This is a book for readers who wish to have a theoretical understanding of the factors and phenomena that influence and determine the growth of crystals at the atomic or molecular level. ... Will this book aid, in a practical way, the 'crystal growth industry' to achieve purer, better quality, larger, etc., crystal specimens? The answer is, probably yes ... . Finally, it is a specific, reference book ... for the well informed, non-specialist physicist or chemist." (Brian W. Lucas, The Physicist, Vol. 38 (6), 2001)

"This book seeks to bring together the approaches from the several disciplines that focus on the increasingly important and studied topics of crystal growth and nucleation, using statistical thermodynamics and chemical kinetics as unifying treatments. An understanding of related topics such as surface absorption and wetting is also provided. The presentation is rigorous and clear, and the text is necessary reading for solid state chemists, chemical engineers and physicists working in this area." (ASLIB Book Guide, Vol. 66 (10), 2001)