Anomalously high surface temperature induced by condensation of atoms

The effect of extremely high temperatures developing on surface during the condensation of sputtered atoms has been discovered for the first time by direct surface temperature measurements. This temperature is considerably higher than the temperature of solid film beneath and proportional to the flux of atoms impinging on the surface. Surface temperature steeply grows as the condensation starts, exists during the period of condensation and rapidly decays after its stopping. The effect is related to the anomalously low thermal conductivity of superficial layer that is formed by highly mobile atoms arriving on the condensation surface. This superficial layer can be viewed as a new state of matter characterized by its anomalously low thermal conductivity.