Planar and cluster structure of icosahedral quasicrystals

Twofold-, threefold-, and fivefold-symmetry elements are observed in the near-surface region of the quasicrystal Al₇₀Pd₂₀Mn₁₀ using a real-space imaging technique based on secondary-electron emission. The observed icosahedral point-group symmetry implies the presence of atomic clusters within the analyzed region of the solid. The same surface produces perfect low-energy electron diffraction patterns typical for well-defined crystallographic planes. We present a model which reconciles this dual structural nature of quasicrystals. Our model is constructed from an icosahedral seed followed by concentric symmetry-preserving “growth” to form the macroscopic solid. Presented at the VIII-th Symposium on Surface Physics, Třešt’ Castle, Czech Republic, June 28 – July 2, 1999. This work was supported in part by the Schweizerischer Nationalfonds.