Hillock formation on ion-irradiated graphite surfaces |
| |
Authors: | K Nordlund T Mattila |
| |
Institution: | 1. Accelerator Laboratory , University of Helsinki , P. O. Box 43, FIN-00014, Finland;2. Laboratory of Physics , Helsinki University of Technology , FIN-02150, Espoo, Finland |
| |
Abstract: | Abstract Scanning probe microscopy experiments show that ion irradiation of (0001) graphite results in the formation of isolated defects comprising of a few tens of atoms. We use molecular dynamics simulations and density-functional theory calculations to study the formation probabilities of these defects. We identify different defect structures which correspond to experimentally observed hillocks on graphite surfaces. We find that the predominant source of defects are vacancies and interlayer interstitials, and identify a three-atom carbon ring defect on the graphite surface. |
| |
Keywords: | Graphite surface defects Ion irradiation Molecular dynamics simulation Density-functional theory |
|
|