Investigation of In growth on W(1 1 0) by means of electron spectroscopies, low energy electron diffraction, thermodesorption and scanning tunneling microscopy

Investigations of indium growth on W(1 1 0) surface at submonolayer and monolayer coverages have been performed by means of photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and UPS), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), thermodesorption spectroscopy (TDS) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). Comparative electron spectroscopy, electron diffraction and STM studies indicated that at room temperature in the submonolayer range three indium-induced overlayer structures – (3 × 1), (1 × 4) and (1 × 5) have been formed. The (1 × 4) and (1 × 5) indium overlayers on W(1 1 0) observed close to completion of the first monolayer have been interpreted as slightly distorted In(1 1 1) monolayers in the Nishiyama–Wassermann orientation. It was found that the indium density in the (1 × 4) superstructure almost perfectly matches that of an In(1 1 1) monolayer, rendering this structure particularly stable. Further investigations performed by using imaging XPS studies and TDS method confirmed the results obtained by comparative electron spectroscopies and STM methods.