A simple model was developed in order to describe low-energy electron diffraction from a unidirectionally reconstructed (110) surface. By comparing diffraction data with the results of detailed simulations, the reconstruction was found to consist of alternating (100) and (010) facets which propagated periodically along the [110] direction like an irregular ridge-and-valley grating, from which (110) terraces were completely absent. The irregularity was attributed to variations in facet size, and the mean separation was found to be 6 lattice spacings. The validity of the model was supported by scanning tunnelling microscopic results which confirmed the structure that had been deduced from diffraction data.

J.K.Zuo, D.M.Zehner, J.F.Wendelken, R.J.Warmack, H.N.Yang: Surface Science, 1994, 301[1-3], 233-44