Smooth, Detachable, (111) Monocrystalline Ag Films

Abstract
A method for obtaining atomically smooth (111)-oriented single-crystal films of Ag on specially prepared (111) monocrystalline NaCl films has been developed. The latter, approximately 100 Å thick, were prepared by vacuum deposition onto air-cleaved mica at 25 °C in pressures of around 10−6 Torr. Ag films deposited on these NaCl films at 270 °C were (111)-oriented monocrystals with atomically smooth surfaces that compared well with those formed directly onto heated mica. The Ag/NaCl/mica films can be removed easily from their substrates for subsequent transmission electron microscopy by dissolving the intermediate layer in water.