Letter abstract
Nature Materials 2, 783 - 787 (2003)
doi:10.1038/nmat1011
Subject Categories: Nanoscale materials | Surface and thin films | Characterisation and analytical techniques
Quasi-collective motion of nanoscale metal strings in metal surfaces
M. Labayen1, C. Ramirez2, W. Schattke2 and O. M. Magnussen1
Mass transport processes on metal surfaces play a key role in epitaxial growth and coarsening processes. They are usually described in terms of independent, statistical diffusion and attachment/detachment of individual metal adatoms or vacancies1, 2. Here we present high-speed scanning tunnelling microscopy (video-STM) observations of the dynamic behaviour of five-atom-wide, hexagonally ordered strings of Au atoms embedded in the square lattice of the Au(100)-(1
1) surface that reveal quasi-collective lateral motion of these strings perpendicular to as well as along the string direction. The perpendicular motion can be ascribed to small atomic displacements in the strings induced by propagating kinks, which also provides a mechanism for the exchange of Au atoms between the two string ends, required for motion in string direction. In addition, quasi-one-dimensional transport of Au adatoms along the string boundaries may contribute to the latter phenomenon according to density functional calculations.
- Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Universität Kiel, 24098 Kiel, Germany
- Institut für Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik, Universität Kiel, 24098 Kiel, Germany
Correspondence to: O. M. Magnussen1 e-mail: magnussen@physik.uni-kiel.de
|
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated NEWS AND VIEWS RESEARCH |
