TOPOGRAPHY AND DYNAMICS OF SURFACE-DEFECTS ON IONIC-CRYSTALS

Scanning Force Microscopy (SFM) offers new possibilities for surface s tudies on insulators, but still needs work on interpretation of the im ages and on the limits of what may or may not be measured. Experimenta l and theoretical investigations of tip-sample interactions and interp retation of images at the atomic length scale are discussed. Observati ons have been made on pure crystals, samples doped with charged defect s, and mixed crystal alloys. The SFM has proved useful in investigatio ns of radiation damage on insulators at mesoscopic scales, using both ex situ and in situ irradiation.