Measurement of the binding energy of kink-site atoms of metals and alloys

The binding energies of kink-site atoms of several metals and alloys have been measured from a kinetic-energy analysis of low-temperature field-evaporated ions using a high-resolution pulsed-laser time-of-flight atom-probe field ion microscope. Data are collected from atomically well-defined surfaces. The binding energies of metal atoms in kink sites obtained by this low-temperature and high-field method are found to agree with the cohesive energies of these metals, derived by thermodynamic methods, to -0.03±{}0.19 eV. The binding energy of Co atoms in Pt₃Co alloys, either in ordered state or in disordered state, is 0.65±{}0.17 eV higher than that in Co metal whereas the binding energy of Pt in the alloy is about 0.1 eV lower than that in Pt metal. We present details of the experimental method and indicate other problems which can be studied with this method.