An adsorbate-stabilised vacancy structure for Cu on W{100}: a surface alloy

Abstract

Deposition of 0.5 ML of Cu on W(100) leads to the formation of a sharp c(2×2) structure when the surface is annealed at 800 K. A LEED intensity analysis reveals that the Cu atoms are adsorbed displacively into W sites, forming an ordered 2D surface alloy. Due to the lattice mismatch between copper and tungsten, a substantial buckling of the first layer of the alloy is also observed. The clean, bulk terminated W(100) surface is only just stable relative to the c(2×2) vacancy covered W(100) surface. This relative stability of the vacancy structure explains the driving force behind the formation of this alloy.