Experimental evidence of the stability of net planes in decagonal quasicrystals

Abstract Because of the aperiodic nature of quasicrystals, lattice planes, in the traditional sense, do not exist for quasicrystals. For decagonal quasicrystals, it has been proposed, however, that one can link the aperiodic and periodic directions using what are termed net planes [Acta Crystallogr. A 57 (2001) 333]. These net planes are thought to play a critical role in the stability and growth of decagonal quasicrystals. To explore their potential role during growth and to shed light on their structural stability, we have studied single-grain surfaces of decagonal Al–Ni–Co by low energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy. Our results suggest that these planes do indeed have special stability.