"Diffusion Kinetics in the Pd/Cu(001) Surface Alloy", M. L. Grant, B. S. Swartzentruber, N. C. Bartelt, and J. B. Hannon, Phys. Rev. Lett., 86, 4588 (2001).

Description:

An image of palladium atoms embedded in the outermost layer of the copper (001) surface. Using atom-tracking scanning tunneling microscopy researchers can study the diffusion of Pd in the Pd/Cu(001) surface alloy as a function of temperature. By following the motion of individual Pd atoms incorporated in the surface, they can show that Pd diffuses by a vacancy-exchange mechanism. They have measured an activation energy for the diffusion of incorporated Pd atoms of 0.88 eV, which is in good agreement with the ab initio calculated energy of 0.94 eV.
 

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