Abstract
The step density on the vicinal Pb(111) surface after laser superheating and melting is investigated using reflection high-energy electron diffraction. The (00) beam profiles parallel and perpendicular to the incident beam are analyzed. For laser heating with ∼100 ps laser pulses, surface superheating does not significantly change the density of the steps and step edge roughness. A sudden increase in the average terrace width is observed after laser surface melting. The average terrace width and the string length at the step edge become as large as those at room temperature. The average terrace width at 573 K changes from 38±15 to 64±19 Å after laser surface melting, while the average string length at the step edge changes from 50±12 to 250±38 Å.
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