STM revealing of twin microlayer with quantized width on cleaved bismuth surface

Abstract

Scanning tunnelling microscopy of cleaved bismuth surfaces at low temperatures revealed the existence of identical thin twin interlayers, embedded in the main crystal. The interlayers were strictly ordered along the surface atomic rows. They were of the macroscopic lengths of the order of one micrometre. The width of interlayers was about ∼ 70 Å. It corresponds nearly to the distance at which the height gained due to the tilt of twin interlayer atomic lattice with respect to the main crystal surface reaches the interplanar spacing in the [0001] direction, i.e. ∼ 2 Å. Hence the width "quantization" is. connected with the matching of atomic planes at both sides of twin interlayer.