Direct observation of misfit dislocation glide on surfaces

Using scanning tunneling microscopy we have observed thermally induced dislocation glide in monolayer Cu films on Ru(0001) at room temperature. The motion is governed by a Peierls barrier that depends on the detailed structure of the dislocations, in particular upon whether the threading dislocations that terminate them are dissociated or not. Calculations based on the Frenkel-Kontorova model reproduce the threading dislocation structure and provide estimates of the Peierls barrier and dislocation stiffness which are consistent with experiment.