R. van Gastel, D. Kaminski, E. Vlieg,
B. Poelsema,
Surface
alloying and anomalous diffusion of Bi on Cu(111),
Surface Science 603 no. 22 (2009)
3292-3296
Abstract:
We have used Low-Energy Electron
Microscopy (LEEM) to study the formation and structure of the surface
alloy of Bi on the Cu(111) surface. As a function of Bi coverage we
find a progression from a dilute surface alloy to a root 3 x root 3-R30
degrees structure, which coexists with a Bi overlayer when the Bi
coverage exceeds 1/3 ML. At a temperature of 401 K, an unusual
formation of alloy domains is observed. The origin of this effect is
traced down to the mobility of Bi adatoms, which is found to strongly
depend on the Bi coverage of the surface alloy on which they reside.