Parallel and perpendicular multilayer relaxation of Fe{310}

Abstract

We report the results of a low-energy electron-diffraction analysis of the atomic structure of the {310} surface of body-centered-cubic iron. Damped relaxations from bulklike structure are found in the directions both parallel and perpendicular to the surface and extending four layers deep into the lattice. The surface structure is as follows: first interlayer spacing d12=0.760.03 (bulk value is 0.906), second interlayer spacing d23=1.020.03, third interlayer spacing d34=0.870.04, change of first-to-second layer registry shift a12=0.130.05, and change of second-to-third layer registry shift a23=0.030.05. Both changes of registry shifts are in the same direction, along a 310 axis, and cause a decrease in the difference between nearest- and next-nearest-neighbor distances between atoms in adjacent layers. © 1984 The American Physical Society.