Surface atom displacement processes

Progress in field ion microscope studies of adatom displacements on metal surfaces is reviewed. It is concluded that of the displacement processes that contribute to surface diffusion only displacements between low-coordination (terrace) sites are well characterised. Procedures and preliminary results of FIM studies of adatom displacement over steps are described. Activation energies measured for passage of Ta, W, Re, Ir and Pt adatoms across (110) W steps are found to equal activation energies for diffusion over (110) W, despite the highly reflecting character of the step for all the adsorbates except Pt. Displacements of adatoms interacting with other adatoms are discussed. Results presented show that interaction of transition metal adatoms forming close-packed dimers on (110) W is rather weak, with a minimum interaction energy ?U(r) < 4kJ/mol] for Re₂ corresponding to a very weak attraction for Re adatoms 0.27 nm apart.