Scanning Auger electron spectroscopy observation revealed that a patch of Ag thin film with a thickness of several monolayers spread on the cathode side over the clean surface of Si(111) 7×7 with the application of dc current to the Si substrate. The spread-out layer had the constant thickness of 1.0 monolayer (=7.8 ×1014 atom/cm2) with √3×√3 structure. On the anode side the edge of the patch made no significant movement but a mixed phase of √3×√3 and 3×1 with a thickness of 0.8 monolayer appeared and extended from the edge toward the cathode. The mass transport was correlated with changes in the structure of the overlayer.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.