Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme
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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 74: Poster Metal and Semiconductor Substrates: Structure, Epitaxy and Growth
O 74.6: Poster
Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 18:00–20:00, P2
An atomistic analysis of the carpet growth of KCl across Ag(111) step edges — •Anna Juliana Kny1, Adam Sweetman2, and Moritz Sokolowski1 — 1Clausius Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Universität Bonn, Germany — 2School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, UK
Thin alkali halide (AH) films of 2-3 atomic layer thickness, grown on metal substrates, are widely used for studying decoupled molecules by scanning tunneling microscopy. For many combinations of AH and metal surface, a continuous growth of the AH layer across step edges of the substrate is observed, which is called carpet growth. Here, we report a first atomistic analysis of the layer distortions in the carpet growth region of KCl layers at Ag(111) step edges.[1] STM measurements were performed at room temperature and with Cl anions decorated W-tips which yield a high atomic resolution. We find that the AH layer distorts locally and in a non-uniform manner within a short lateral distance of four unit cells, when it grows across the Ag step. Furthermore, we find that the Ag(111) surface adapts to the AH layer, as the carpet growth is accompanied by a straightening of the Ag steps along the <110> direction and a splitting of higher Ag steps into multiple mono-atomic ones. These mono-atomic Ag steps allow for the carpet growth if the distance between them is larger than 13 Å, while a carpet growth across higher or closer Ag steps was not observed.[1]
Supported by the DFG through the research training group 2591, the Royal Society, and the ERC.
[1] A.J. Kny et al., J. Phys. Chem. Letters (2024), under revision.
Keywords: STM; epitaxy; alkali halides; KCl; Ag(100)