The atomic geometry of the (110)-(1 x 1) surface was determined via a dynamical analysis of low-energy electron-diffraction intensities. It was found that the surface underwent a relaxation which was characterized by an approximately 30º Cu-Cl surface-bond rotation, an 0.015nm contraction of the top-to-second layer-distance, and an 0.04nm horizontal displacement of Cl relative to Cu. The relaxation was consistent with the so-called universal structure which had been deduced from an analysis of the cleavage surfaces of tetrahedrally coordinated III-V and II-VI compounds. This suggested that this feature did not depend markedly upon the ionicity of the compound.

A.Kahn, S.Ahsan, W.Chen, M.Dumas, C.B.Duke, A.Paton: Physical Review Letters, 1992, 68[21], 3200-3