X-ray scattering study of the deconstruction and thermal roughening of the Au(110) 1×3 reconstructed surface

Abstract

We present the results of a synchrotron x-ray scattering study of the thermal evolution of a Au(110) 1×3 reconstructed surface. At Tc = 485°C, the 1×3 surface undergoes a reversible deconstruction transition. Observing the temperature dependence of the superlattice and integral order bulk-forbidden (anti-Bragg) surface peaks, we find that at Tc the 1×3 reconstructed surface becomes incommensurate with the bulk crystalline lattice. During this commensurate-incommensurate transition, the data suggest that the surface both roughens and deconstructs. © 1989.