Atomic relaxation at the kinks of steps on the {112} tungsten surface

Low-temperature field evaporation from 〈111〉 steps on the {112} tungsten surface has been studied using the field ion microscopy techniques. It is established that the atoms at kinks of the steps exhibit anomalous stability with respect to field evaporation. This effect is related to the relaxation of atoms at the kinks. Using geometric analysis of the ion images, the relaxation displacement component normal to the surface was calculated for atoms at the kinks.