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Register a new userVacancy diffusion in the Cu(001) surface I: An STM study
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Authors
R. van Gastel
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We have used the indium/copper surface alloy to study the dynamics of surface vacancies on the Cu(001) surface. Individual indium atoms that are embedded within the first layer of the crystal, are used as probes to detect the rapid diffusion of surface vacancies. STM measurements show that these indium atoms make multi-lattice-spacing jumps separated by long time intervals. Temperature dependent waiting time distributions show that the creation and diffusion of thermal vacancies form an Arrhenius type process with individual long jumps being caused by one vacancy only. The length of the long jumps is shown to depend on the specific location of the indium atom and is directly related to the lifetime of vacancies at these sites on the surface. This observation is used to expose the role of step edges as emitting and absorbing boundaries for vacancies.
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We develop a version of the vacancy mediated tracer diffusion model, which follows the properties of the physical system of In atoms diffusing within the top layer of Cu(001) terraces. This model differs from the classical tracer diffusion problem in that (i) the lattice is finite, (ii) the boundary is a trap for the vacancy, and (iii) the diffusion rate of the vacancy is different, in our case strongly enhanced, in the neighborhood of the tracer atom. A simple continuum solution is formulated for this problem, which together with the numerical solution of the discrete model compares well with our experimental results.
We report scanning tunneling microscopy observations, which imply that all atoms in a close-packed copper surface move frequently, even at room temperature. Using a low density of embedded indium `tracer atoms, we visualize the diffusive motion of surface atoms. Surprisingly, the indium atoms seem to make concerted, long jumps. Responsible for this motion is an ultra-low density of surface vacancies, diffusing rapidly within the surface. This interpretation is supported by a detailed analysis of the displacement distribution of the indium atoms, which reveals a shape characteristic for the vacancy mediated diffusion mechanism that we propose.
Chemisorption of CO on the stepped Cu(211) surface is studied within ab-initio density functional theory (DFT) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) imaging as well as manipulation experiments. Theoretically we focus on the experimentally observed ordered (2x1) and (3x1) CO-phases at coverages 1/3, 1/2 and 2/3 monolayer (ML). To obtain also information for isolated CO molecules found randomly distributed at low coverages, we also performed calculations for a hypothetical (3x1) phase with 1/3 ML. The adsorption geometry, the stretching frequencies, the work functions and adsorption energies of the CO molecules in the different phases are presented and compared to experimental data. Initially and up to a coverage of 1/2 ML CO adsorbs upright on the on-top sites at step edge atoms. Determining the most favorable adsorption geometry for the 2/3 ML ordered phase turned out to be nontrivial both from the experimental and the theoretical point of view. Experimentally, both top-bridge and top-top configurations were reported, whereby only the top-top arrangement was firmly established. The calculated adsorption energies and the stretching frequencies favor the top-bridge configuration. The possible existence of both configurations at 2/3 ML is critically discussed on the basis of the presently accessible experimental and theoretical data. In addition, we present observations of STM manipulation experiments and corresponding theoretical results, which show that CO adsorbed on-top of a single Cu-adatom, which is manipulated to a location close to the lower step edge, is stronger bound than CO on-top of a step edge atom.
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