STM study of the atomic structure of the icosahedral Al-Cu-Fe fivefold surface

T. Cai (1) , Vincent Fournée , T. Lograsso , A. Ross , P. A. A Thiel

1 Ames Laboratory [Ames, USA]

We use scanning tunneling microscopy ~STM! to investigate the atomic structure of the icosahedral ~i-!Al-Cu-Fe fivefold surface in ultra high vacuum ~UHV!. Studies show that large, atomically flat terraces feature many ten-petal ‘‘flowers’’ with internal structure. The observed flower patterns can be associated with features on Al rich dense atomic planes generated from two-dimensional cuts of bulk models based on x-ray and neutron diffraction experiments. The results confirm that the fivefold surface of i-Al-Cu-Fe corresponds to a bulk-terminated plane.

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

T. Cai, Vincent Fournée, T. Lograsso, A. Ross, P. A. A Thiel. STM study of the atomic structure of the icosahedral Al-Cu-Fe fivefold surface. Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (1998-2015), 2002, 65 (14), ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.65.140202⟩. ⟨hal-01665091⟩