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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
We have studied point defects, linear defects as well as spatial transitions between ordered and disordered structures on silicon surfaces with atomic resolution by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Point defects in the vicinity of multiple step edges as well as surface reconstructions at multiple step edges as high as 3 nm have been characterized by STM. STM images of partially disordered silicon surfaces prepared by laser and thermal annealing demonstrate the potential of STM for characterizing non-periodic surfaces on the atomic scale.