Defect Motion on an InP(110) Surface Observed with Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy

Abstract

With an atomic force microscope operating in the noncontact mode in an ultrahigh vacuum, atomic-resolution imaging of the cleaved semi-insulating InP(110) surface has been achieved. By this method, atomic scale point defects and their motion were observed at room temperature, without the field-induced effects associated with scanning tunneling microscopy.