Non-kinkwise field evaporation and kink relaxation on stepped W(1 1 2) surface

Low-temperature field evaporation of the [1 1 1] steps on a W(2 1 1) surface was investigated by field ion microscopy (FIM). The atoms at the (1 1 2)[1̄ 1̄ 1] kink site are anomalously stable against field evaporation. This effect results in non-kinkwise field evaporation near the kink of this type. The non-kinkwise field evaporating steps {2 1 1}〈1 1 1〉 usually produce the reconstructed atomic chain with double-space arranged adatoms. The experimental results reveal atomic relaxation effects at steps and kinks. The normal to surface differential relaxation of the kink-site atoms was estimated by the geometrical method of indirect magnification and by simulation of the FIM image.