Interplay between gas adsorption and dislocation structure on a metal surface

The influence of oxygen and sulfur on the dislocation patterns of the strained two monolayer Cu film on Ru was observed by scanning tunneling microscopy. Both oxygen and sulfur adsorption lead to the formation of vacancies that aggregate over existing dislocations in the film, thereby modifying the dislocation structure. With increasing adsorbate coverage the overall dislocation structure and pattern are transformed. The atomic mechanisms and general nature of this transformation can be explained in terms of generic dislocation reactions. This interpretation is also supported by atomistic simulations.