USING STM TO UNDERSTAND DIFFRACTION OSCILLATIONS FOR FE GROWTH ON CU(100)

The relationship between diffraction intensity variations and topography measured with the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is examined quantitatively, for room-temperature growth of Fe on Cu(100). Predictions from STM data based on kinematical formulas yield good agreement with the experimental medium-energy electron diffraction (MEED) results of Thomassen et al. [Surf. Sci. 264 (1992) 406]. The agreement demonstrates the similarity of samples prepared in the different laboratories, the applicability of kinematical analysis to MEED oscillations, and the importance of identifying and understanding the characteristic lengths of the sample and the measurement.