The step distance dependence of the kink creation energy determined on vicinal silver surfaces

Using a statistical analysis of high-speed scanning tunneling microscopy mo vies, we determine the formation energy of kinks in the steps on AE(113) to be W-0 = 1280 +/- 25 K. To examine the step distance dependence of this en ergy we compare our result with the kink formation energy previously measur ed on the Ag(115) surface. In addition, we perform effective medium theory (EMT) calculations of kink energies on silver surfaces with various orienta tions. Both experiment and calculations show that the kink creation energy is almost independent of the distance between the steps. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.