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Terbium island

Image size: 450 nm x 450 nm Tunneling bias: red: 0.3 V, green: 1 V, blue: 1.8 V

Crystallite or "island" of the rare earth metal Terbium (Tb) grown on a Tungsten (W) single crystal in (110) orientation. The rare earth metals are extremely sensitive to contamination, for instance from a vacuum that is not good enough or from an insufficient cleaning process of the evaporant. As this sample was prepared the cleaning process that is carried out by melting and degassing the Tb under high vacuum, was not finished. This results in the formation of diverse adsorbate induced reconstructions. Here they are visible mainly at the rim in blue.

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