Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
A high resolution electron microscope investigation of the residual oxidized silver of a few monolayers thickness on the surface of (111) Au films has shown that a reconstructed (2×1) surface structure occurs for (110) oriented Ag2O and can be observed at atomic resolution levels. Image enhancement via a digital frame store processor has revealed improved images which have then been compared to computer simulated diffraction patterns and images of the Ag2O surface. Several iterations of surface structure models and image simulations reveal that the (2×1) reconstruction is consistent with a missing row model. The atomic arrangements of these rows often undergo a translation along the direction of the row to produce cusp like image features. It has also been possible to observe the effect of contraction of the underlying layer which can produce diagonal contrast lines in the images. These features often vary rapidly over lateral distances of a few tens of angstroms and give an indication of the surface topography and the degree ordering of the surface.