Investigation of Si-Au vicinal surfaces using scanning tunnelling microscopy and reflection high-energy electron...

Silicon vicinal surfaces can be successfully used as substrates for the preparation of one-dimensional nanostructures. The quality of the structures prepared may be controlled using scanning tunnelling microscopy, as shown in this work. Additionally, it is possible to obtain valuable information using reflection high-energy electron diffraction. A typical way of employing reflection high-energy electron diffraction is to observe patterns of scattered electrons on a screen. However, it is possible to obtain more detailed information on the arrangement of atoms at the surface if azimuthal plots are collected. Azimuthal plots are measured by recording the intensity of specularly reflected electrons during the rotation of the sample around an axis perpendicular to its surface. So far, only flat surfaces have been examined in such a way. In this work, it is shown that such data, containing interesting features, can also be collected for vicinal surfaces.