A study of the AgBr(111) and AgBr(100) surface by means of atomic force microscopy

For the first time, atomic force microscope measurements on the (111) and (100) surfaces of AgBr crystals are reported. We could image steps of varying sizes ranging from 0.9 nm to several nm. The lateral orientation of these steps could be determined by comparison with x-ray measurements. On the (100) surface, steps with the low index orientations 〈011̄〉 and 〈011〉 were observed. On the (111), surface steps were mainly oriented in the 〈12̄1〉 and 〈11̄0〉 directions. The most evident difference between these surfaces was that on the (111) surface no crossing steps occurred. This observation will be discussed in relation to the adsorption of dye aggregates on these crystals, which is of great importance for photographic emulsion technology.