Computer simulations and atomic-resolution tunnelling microscopy were used to investigate the kinetics of defect migration during the annealing of implanted (111) 7 x 7 surfaces. By using atomically clean and flat surfaces as sinks for the bulk point defects that were introduced by the implantation, distinct temperature-dependent surface arrival rates for vacancies and interstitials were deduced. It was demonstrated that the characteristic kinetics of each type of bulk point defect governed their surface segregation kinetics. The use of simulations provided a detailed description of the processes that led to the observed temperature dependence of defect migration.

P.J.Bedrossian, M.J.Caturla, T.Diaz de la Rubia: Applied Physics Letters, 1997, 70[2], 176-8