Spontaneous evolution of the Ni/Cu(1 1 1) interface at 300 K

The spontaneous evolution of the structures obtained by submonolayer deposition of Ni on Cu(1 1 1) at room temperature has been studied by scanning tunnelling microscopy. The growth of an additional Cu plane on top of Ni-rich monolayer (ML) islands, and the simultaneous development of a characteristic electron standing wave pattern, have been observed in real time. From these observations we could derive the composition of the surface plane of the two kinds of bilayer islands that coexist in the deposit. A simple nucleation model is presented to explain the different evolution of pure and partially covered ML islands.