Thermal expansion of the Ag(111) surface measured by x-ray scattering - art. no. 113404

We have investigated the structure of the Ag(111) surface, for temperatures between 300 and 1100 K (90% of the bulk melting point), using synchrotron x-ray diffraction. Our data show no evidence of the anomalously large surfa ce thermal expansion previously reported by medium-energy ion-scattering [P hys. Rev. Lett. 72, 3574 (1994)]. At all temperatures we find that the inte rlayer separations at the surface differ from their bulk counterparts by le ss than 1%, indicating that the surface expands similarly to the underlying bulk crystal. This behavior is in good agreement with results from molecul ar dynamics simulations. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.63.113404.