Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
Preliminary results from a study of the morphology of the MgO (100) surface after chemical etching followed by heat-treatment in air are presented. Contrast arising from the surface-steps so formed is found to be strongly dependent on the deviation parameter, suggesting that many of the step-faces are not perpendicular to the (100) foil plane but are, instead, often rather shallowly inclined.