摘要 : We describe low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) studies of the behavior at high temperatures of step edges on the close-packed surfaces of refractory metal thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The research includes bcc Mo... 展开 We describe low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) studies of the behavior at high temperatures of step edges on the close-packed surfaces of refractory metal thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The research includes bcc Mo (011), V (011), Nb (011), and Ta (011), and comparison with bulk single crystals of Nb (011) and fcc Pt (111). Properties observed include faceting of individual steps, step-step interactions, and the interactions of steps with defects such as threading dislocations and with surface reconstructions. Step fluctuations on these surfaces are quantified. For Mo (011) observed by LEEM, the Fourier amplitudes are fit with an attachment model to obtain the step stiffness and its entropy, the step free energy, and its orientation dependence. 收起