Studies of surface structures on single crystalline magnetite (100)

Mechanically polished crystals of both natural and artificial Fe3O4 (100) were studied using STM, LEED and Auger. It was found that above 965 +/- 10 K, an ordered surface is formed. In this state, the surface consisted of hat terraces separated by 2 +/- 0.3 Angstrom with edges aligned along [110] and [1 - 10]. Upon annealing for a further 20 h, approximately, this state transforms into a reconstructed state composed of rows which rotate by 90 degrees between alternating terraces and have separations of 24-42 +/- 3 Angstrom. These rows are formed along the (110) directions and appear to follow the atomic scale structure of the sample. The most likely explanation for these structures is based on electron and charge counting arguments. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.