NITROGEN-INDUCED RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CU3AU(110) SURFACE

Using low-energy ion backscattering with the detection of neutrals in combination with scanning tunnelling microscopy and low-energy electro n diffraction, we investigated the Cu3Au(110) surface upon exposure to nitrogen. Nitrogen was found to induce a Cu-surface segregation and a surface reconstruction to a c(2X4) pattern. We suggest a model for th is reconstruction, which is characterized by additional copper double rows in [110] azimuth with nitrogen atoms in every second bridge posit ion. The nitrogen atoms in neighboring double rows are shifted by one atomic spacing with respect to one another.