Determination of surface formation energies on curved single crystals from STM images

In this thesis, we study different curved single crystals because of the diversity of surface structures across their curvature. For our research, we use<br>the images obtained with a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM). By analyzing the STM images, we can study the thermodynamic properties of crystal surfaces. <br> We analyze STM images quantitatively with a home-built Python script. This script can be used for different stepped surfaces and yields relevant statistical information, such as the terrace width distribution and the mean square displacement of a step position. <br> From the terrace width analysis, we find that the limited number of terraces in a single STM image of a stepped surface may yield an incorrect relation between the average width and the standard deviation when applying a Gaussian function to fit all data from a single image. <br> From the mean-square displacement of a step position, we calculate the kink formation energy and approximate the step formation energy for NiAl(110).<br>We also describe our experience with a setup used to grow single crystals using electromagnetic levitation.<br>