Using the Wigner–Ibach surmise to analyze terrace-width distributions: history, user’s guide, and advances

2006/12/13 by T. L. Einstein, T.L. Einstein · 1 citation
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Electrostatics and Colloid Interactions #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Theoretical and Computational Physics #cond-mat.mtrl-sci #cond-mat.stat-mech

paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s00339-007-3908-x

published as Appl. Phys. A 87, 375-384 (2007) · 11 pages, 4 figures, reformatted (with revtex) version of refereed paper for special issue of Applied Physics A entitled "From Surface Science to Device Physics", in honor of the retirements of Prof. H. Ibach and Prof. H. Lüth

arxiv created 2006/12/13 · openalex publication_date 2007/02/27 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

A history is given of the applications of the simple expression generalized from the surmise by Wigner and also by Ibach to extract the strength of the interaction between steps on a vicinal surface, via the terrace width distribution (TWD). A concise guide for use with experiments and a summary of some recent extensions are provided.

Citations

• Random Matrix Theories in Quantum Physics: Common Concepts
• Low-temperature orientation dependence of step stiffness on 111 surfaces
• Applications of Ideas from Random Matrix Theory to Step Distributions on “Misoriented” Surfaces

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