The equilateral nature of the hexagonal etch pit developed during carbon oxidation

Abstract

In the oxidation of carbon, the most frequently observed etch pit is the hexagon, which can be equilateral and equiangular. This work provides quantitative justification for the equilateral nature of the hexagon by using a Monte Carlo program written for a personal computer. Analysis of the results predicts that etch pits with 3000-atom perimeters should appear equilateral about 70% of the time, and that etch pits with 9600-atom perimeters should appear equilateral about 99% percent of the time. Experiments show somewhat lower frequency than this, but not drastically so.