Computer Simulation of Field-Ion Images of Hexagonal Structures and Superlattices

The simulation of field-ion images by computation of the position of atoms which lie within an outer shell of given thickness on a spherical crystal has been extended to spherical crystals of a variety of structures. These include the hexagonal lattice, the hexagonal close-packed structure and a few of the common superlattices. The consequences of the invisibility of one atomic species in ordered alloys has been investigated. The results show that computations are in fact necessary for a detailed interpretation of the field-ion image.