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Title: Excitonic mechanism of the photoinduced surface restructuring of copper

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3212727· OSTI ID:21294292
 [1]
  1. Department of Physical Electronics, School of Electrical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978 (Israel)

An explanation for the photoinduced reconstruction of Cu single-crystal surfaces that was observed by Ernst et al. [Science 279, 679 (1998)] under the influence of visible light is proposed. It is suggested that reconstruction can be attributed to the energy released during the nonradiative decay of excitons that were excited by light irradiation and captured on surface active centers. The estimates performed show that exciton decay on surface steps and adatoms releases enough energy to create surface defects.

OSTI ID:
21294292
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 95, Issue 8; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3212727; (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English