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Title: Surface structure studies of quasi-one-dimensional charge-density wave compounds by scanning tunneling microscopy

Journal Article · · Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. B, Microelectronics Processing and Phenomena; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1116/1.585252· OSTI ID:5186917

This paper reports on the use of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to study the atomic and charge-density wave (CDW) structure of the surface of the trichalcogenides NbSe{sub 3} and o-TaS{sub 3}. Atomic images of NbSe{sub 3} suggest the presence of an adatom on untreated surfaces imaged in air, making chain identification difficult. Although the detailed structure of o-TaS{sub 3} is not known, STM images provide evidence that it is more closely related to the ZrSe{sub 3} structure than to that of NbSe{sub 3}, as previously assumed. Images of o-TaS{sub 3} below T{sub p} = 215 K reveal the detailed structure of the CDW, yielding some insight as to why its CDW properties differ from those of NbSe{sub 3} and m-TaS{sub 3}.

OSTI ID:
5186917
Journal Information:
Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. B, Microelectronics Processing and Phenomena; (United States), Vol. 9:2; ISSN 0734-211X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English