Low energy electron microscopy investigations of kinetics and energetics on cleanclose-packed metal surfaces

Abstract

Experiments are described in which low energy electron microscopy is employed toinvestigate the kinetics and energetics of clean close-packed metal surfaces, using stepfluctuation spectroscopy. The data contain systematic trends of surface mass diffusion andstep energetics that are identified and discussed. Further experiments and equipmentdevelopment have been undertaken to explore the influence of accelerated mixing onsurface evolution caused by ion beams, through the resulting kinetic and energeticperturbations of surface processes.