Two-dimensional electron gas at noble-metal surfaces

The electrons of the surface states on the (111) surfaces of the noble metals Au, Ag, and Cu form a quasi-two-dimensional (2D) free electron gas which is confined to the first few atomic layers at the crystal surface. They are scattered by the potential associated with surface defects, e.g. impurity...

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Published inApplied physics. A, Materials science & processing Vol. 75; no. 1; pp. 141 - 145
Main Authors Bürgi, L., Knorr, N., Brune, H., Schneider, M.A., Kern, K.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.07.2002
Subjects
Adsorbates
Crystal defects
Crystal surfaces
Free electrons
Gold
Noble metals
Surface defects
Two dimensional
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Summary:The electrons of the surface states on the (111) surfaces of the noble metals Au, Ag, and Cu form a quasi-two-dimensional (2D) free electron gas which is confined to the first few atomic layers at the crystal surface. They are scattered by the potential associated with surface defects, e.g. impurity atoms, adatoms, or step edges, leading to quantum-interference patterns in the local density of states around these defects. We have used the quantum-interference phenomena to quantitatively measure the electron phase-relaxation length and to probe long-range adsorbate interactions.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:0947-8396
1432-0630
DOI:10.1007/s003390101062