Determination of Step Free Energies from Island Shape Fluctuations on Metal Surfaces
- 10 May 1999
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 82 (19) , 3843-3846
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.82.3843
Abstract
The absolute measurement of free energies associated with crystal steps on a metal surface has been a long-standing problem. We report a reliable estimate of the step free energy on a Cu(111) crystal surface, based on an analysis of island shape fluctuations directly imaged by scanning tunneling microscopy. The result of 0.22 eV per atomic distance for steps running into close-packed directions is in good agreement with theoretical predictions.Keywords
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