The effects of lattice mismatch strain and atomic size mismatch strain on surface reconstructions are analyzed using density functional theory. These calculations demonstrate the importance of an explicit treatment of alloying when calculating the energies of alloyed surface reconstructions. Lattice mismatch strain has little impact on surface dimer ordering for the reconstruction of GaAs alloyed with In. However, atomic size mismatch strain induces the surface In atoms to preferentially alternate position, which, in turn, induces an alternating configuration of the surface anion dimers. These results agree well with experimental data for domains in surfaces.
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This lattice model, fit to DFT energies of seven dimer arrangements and performed on a cell, includes interactions up to the third nearest neighbor and predicts a difference in energy between the and models of per surface unit cell.