Alkali halide nanocrystal growth and etching studied by AFM and modeled by MD simulations

NaCl hillocks have been grown on the NaCl(100) monocrystalline surface by simply making the tip of an atomic force microscope cantilever interact with the surface. A quantitative discussion about the hillock dissolution process as well as physical stability of these ionic surfaces has been made. Molecular dynamics simulations helped us to interpret the experimental data. An explanation for the hillock formation and dissolution phenomena is also discussed.