SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPY OF VARIOUS GRAPHITIC SURFACES

Scanning tunneling microscopy, on atomic scale and larger, was used to study the surface structure of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), pyrolytic graphite (PG), benzene-derived graphite (BDG), and triphenylene-derived graphite. Good registry of the (0001) surface of PG and BDG was determined by comparison with HOPG. Using a large-scale scan (1-mu-m), steps, crystallite sizes, and other large features were compared. Highly symmetric hexagonal etch pits a few hundred nm in width and tens of nm deep, representing the nm scale effects of oxidation, were observed on the surface of BDG.