In-plane asymmetries on the Ge(111)-c(2×8) surface mapped with the scanning tunneling microscope

We report on new experimental studies of the Ge(111)-c(2×8) reconstruction performed with low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Weak quarter-order reflections are present in the c(2×8) LEED pattern in agreement with previous observations and results of ab initio calculations. In order to gain insight into the predicted splitting of dangling bond states, we compare constant current topographs (CCT's) performed at high-tunneling currents (40.nA) with first-principles calculations of the local density of states (LDOS) 1angstrom above the surface adatoms and obtain good qualitative agreement. We finally discuss to what extent the STM CCT's at high tunneling currents (small sample-tip distances (STD)) are sensitive to surface states outside the Γ̄ point.