STM images apparently corresponding to a stable structure: considerable fluctuation of a phase boundary of the Si(111)-(square root of (3) x square root of (3))-Ag surface.
We study scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images near a phase boundary of the Si(111)- (square root of (3) x square root of (3))-Ag surface by using Monte Carlo simulations based on results of first-principles calculations. The boundary is found to fluctuate from snapshot to snapshot, and the feature of the simulated STM images differs distinctly from the observed one with a straightly extending honeycomb pattern of bright spots. Remarkably, statistical averages of the simulated images reproduce the observed feature. This study gives a warning of our tendency to relate STM images revealing clear arrangement of bright spots with some stable structure.
Nakamura
Y
Y
Department of Materials Science, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan. naka@cello.mm.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Kondo
Y
Y
Nakamura
J
J
Watanabe
S
S