Period 2 commences immediately after Period 1 and is characterized by a distinct increase in current density to 2.2 µA/cm 2 , followed by intermittent spikes until 5 s of polarization (1b). At this stage, even unzoomed optical images reveal the formation of dark, contrast-enhanced spots, identified as pits, which are responsible for the sharp rise in current density. The passive film can locally reform after pit initiation and break down again, explaining the intermittent spikes in current density. After 5 s of polarization, the formation of new pits ceases, while some of the existing ones continue to steadily increase in size, as visible in raw normalized optical images at = 5 s and = 12 s in 1b, accompanied by a steady increase in current density.