Structural growth of strained Dy islands on W(1 0 0)

Growth of Dy on W(1 0 0) at room temperature produced a rough surface covered by rhombic-shaped islands. The islands were strained perpendicular to the direction of substrate terraces. Annealing to 820 K produced strained, but well-ordered islands of Dy with a c(8 × 2) structure, with the principal direction of strain the same as for the as-grown islands. Further investigation showed that Dy islands do not follow Gd in producing inverted-step islands on W(1 0 0).