Direct evidence for mesoscopic relaxations in cobalt nanoislands on Cu(001)

Surface x-ray diffraction in combination with scanning tunneling microscopy and molecular dynamics calculations provide first quantitative evidence for unusually large relaxations in nanometer-sized Co islands deposited on Cu(001) at 170 K. These lead to sharply reduced interatomic Co distances as low as 2.36 angstrom as compared to bulk Co (2.51 angstrom) involving low symmetry Co adsorption sites. Our results prove the validity of the concept of mesoscopic mismatch which governs the strain relaxation of nanosized islands in general.