The Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov model: A brief review

The kinetics of isothermal phase transformations have been described by the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) phenomenological model since the 40's. Although many theoretical investigators have given a fundamental contribution to extend the range of applicability of the model, the experimentalists keep using the model in its original form, owing to its simplicity, at times risking to overinterpret the experimental results. The early attempts to apply the JMAK model to surface science date back to the 70's, but it has been systematically applied only in the last fem years. There is not enough space here to review thoroughly the model and its applications. For this reason, after a historic introduction, we describe here in some detail the model and finally we review in brief its application to surface science.