A high-speed high-temperature scanning tunnelling microscope was used to investigate 2 aspects of surface diffusion. Step fluctuations on metal surfaces were shown to be the result of the fast diffusive motion of pre-existing kinks in the steps. It was found that a high density of kinks could be introduced by a minute impurity concentration. At sufficiently high temperatures, surfaces could jump into physical contact with the tip of the microscope probe. Such jumps were followed by a so-called sintering process in which a massive connecting neck rapidly built up between the surface and the tip.

J.W.M.Frenken, L.Kuipers, M.S.Hoogeman: Berichte der Bunsengesellschaft für Physikalische Chemie, 1994, 98[3], 307-12