The geometric structure of the TaC(310) surface was investigated using high-resolution low-energy electron diffraction. An ideally truncated TaC(310) surface had a staircase geometry where each unit consisted of a (100) terrace, three row spacings wide, separated by a single-height step. However, it was determined that the surface was reconstructed with both terrace width and step height tripled on average while the surface still retains the (310) orientation. In addition, a small number of double-height steps were found to coexist with the triple-height steps. Possible physical origins of these observations were discussed.

Terrace-Width and Step-Height Enlargement - Reconstruction of the TaC(310) Surface. J.K.Zuo, D.M.Zehner: Physical Review B, 1992, 46, 16122-7