Low energy ion scattering by atomic steps on the single crystal surface

The energy, angular distributions and trajectories of particles scattered on surfaces of Ni(100) and Cu(100), with both ideal and damaged, and semi-infinite and isolated atomic steps, have been calculated. It has been shown that from the correlation between the experimental and calculated energy distributions of the scattered particles, one may determine the spatial extension of the isolated atomic steps and the distance between them on the single crystal surface damaged by ion bombardment. The energy and angular distributions of ions dechanneled from semi-infinite steps on the GaP(100) surface have been presented. It has been shown that the dechanneling ions form the characteristic peaks in the angular and energy distributions of the scattered particles.     

Slow ion scattering by crystal surfaces and nanostructures

This review is dedicated to considering issues of low-energy ion scattering by solid surfaces. In addition to general issues, original results obtained by researchers at the department of physical electronics (Faculty of Physics, Moscow State University) are considered. They have initiated new directions in the study of slow ion scattering. Attention is focused on experimental data and the results of computer simulation. The section dedicated to discussing the charge exchange between the scattered particles and the surface, and nanostructures is an important part of this review.     

Low energy ion impact phenomena on single crystal surfaces

The dynamics of a solid bombarded by a 600 eV Ar⁺ ion have been studied classically by computer simulation. The model uses a crystallite of about 250 atoms described by pair potentials derived from elastic constants and which reproduce the surface binding energy of the solid. The relative calculated yield of secondary atom emission from the three low index faces of Cu follow the previously determined experimental order (111) > (100) > (110). We find major differences in the sputtering mechanisms for these faces. On (110), the impacted atom is ejected most frequently, while on (111) and (100) it almost never leaves the solid. We report the energy distribution of the sputtered particles for each face. The simulation successfully predicts the shape of the curve including the low energy maximum which is observed experimentally near 2 eV. In addition our model shows that many low energy atoms attempt to leave the crystal but are subsequently trapped to the solid at large distances from their original sites. This mechanism of radiation enhanced diffusion inevitably occurs in conjunction with sputtering or any other heavy secondary particle emission or scattering process.     

Multiphonon atomic scattering by solid surfaces

A multiphonon solution for the problem of atom-surface scattering at thermal energies is proposed. The scattering equations are solved using the assumption of low inelastic scattering intensities, and the theoretical formalism is basically an improvement of a previous work on one-phonon scattering. Present results reduce to the one-phonon expression of the previous work when the appropriate limit is taken.     

Investigation of the local atomic arrangement on surfaces using low-energy ion scattering

Ions with energies around 1 keV are well suited for detecting atoms on solid surfaces and for investigating their relative arrangement. This is due to the large scattering cross-sections which are of the order of 10^–2Ų/sr. The conceptually simple method is limited by the fact that interaction potentials and, more so, charge exchange processes are only approximately known. Progress in low-energy ion scattering has recently been made by applying special scattering geometries and by using alkali ions, in addition to noble gas ions.Among the successful applications there are studies of the arrangement of atomic layers on supported catalysts, ordered adsorption systems on metal surfaces, surface reconstruction, and surface disordering due to defects and thermal motion. Energy spectra of recoil atoms and ions convey additional information. The fundamental physical features of low-energy ion scattering are discussed on the basis of examples of recent results.     

Compton scattering of photon by atomic ion

The angular and energy dependences of the differential cross sections for the nonresonance Compton scattering of a linearly polarized X-ray photon by the Be atom and beryllium-like ions O⁴⁺ and Mg⁸⁺ are studied theoretically. The many-particle effects of radial relaxation of the electron shells in the field of vacancies and stabilization of the core shells were taken into account. The calculated results are predictive in character.     

On glancing scattering of light ions from tungsten single crystal surfaces

A computer calculation of light ion (200–800 keV protons and helium) scattering from a tungsten single crystal model with a (110)-type surface is presented. An axis (100) is considered. Thermal vibrations in 3 dimensions have been incorporated. The number, i.e. fraction, and spatial distribution of reflected ions for some angular scans are presented in an appendix. The importance of trajectory histories is demonstrated. 3 regimes of scattering behaviour as a function of the incidence angle ψ in to the string in the surface are found:

(i) for very small ψ_in surface-semi-proper-channelling of all ions;

(ii) for intermediate ψ_in mainly planar channelling and dechannelling resulting in a decreasing reflective index for increasing ψ _in;

(iii) axial channelling and transverse plane focussing are mainly of importance leading to a small reflective index, and surface semi-channelling like for (ii) occurs for very few ions.

The importance of the scattering potential is demonstrated and an expression is discussed.     

Structure sensitive factors in molecular cluster formation by ion bombardment of single crystal surfaces

The dynamics of molecular cluster formation from a solid bombarded by a 600 eV Ar⁺ ion have been studied classically by computer simulation. The dimers and trimers are found to establish their identity as clusters within interaction range of the solid, but not by a direct ejection of a bound molecule. The Cu₂/Cu and Cu₃/Cu ratios are found to be strongly dependent on crystal orientation. The (111) face is 2–3 times more likely to produce multimers than the (100) face. We find 9 trimers from (111) but none from (110). The relationship between cluster composition and the original arrangement of those atoms on the surface is presented in detail. We find that each multimer forms from atoms that originate within a roughly circular region of area ～70 Ų or less. This region is not necessarily centered on the ion impact point. A consequence of this observation is that dimers can consist of atoms that were several Ångströms apart on the surface but that most trimers contain at least one nearest neighbor pair of atoms. The calculated energy distribution for the dimers matches well with similar experimental studies.     

The thermal attenuation of elastic scattering of helium from copper single crystal surfaces

The dependence of diffraction peak intensities upon temperature for the scattering of helium from various copper surfaces: Cu (111), (100), (110), (113), (115) and (117), has been experimentally determined for two incident energies (21–63 meV) and a large range of incidence angles. For the close-packed faces (111) and (100), the data are consistent with a Debye-Waller formalism involving an effective surface mean square displacement <u²_eff〉. The quantitative fit with the data is good if anharmonic effects are properly taken into account. This result establishes that a generalized Debye-Waller formalism is, at least as a first approximation, relevant to the helium-surface diffraction. For the rougher surfaces the agreement remains good up to a threshold temperature above which the intensities are always lower than predicted by the model. It is proposed that this may be due to some kind of thermal roughening of the surface.     

Elastic scattering of ions by atomic strings at solid surfaces

Comparison of elastic energy losses for ions scattered from a continuous atomic “string” and from a discrete atomic row yields a concept of an effective number of binary atomic collisions. The string approximation is shown to be valid when this effective number is greater than three, in agreement with experiment.     

NMR at single crystal surfaces

15 sites on 1 cm². To overcome this for the important class of alkali adsorbates on metals and semiconductors, two methods are presented. Common to both is the preparation of a highly nuclear spin-polarized atomic beam of ⁶Li in the one case and ⁸Li in the other. The latter isotope is radioactive and undergoes a β-decay with a half-life of 0.84 s. Li adsorbed on the close-packed Ru(001) surface is investigated. The longitudinal relaxation time, T₁, is the main observable and is used to deduce the local electronic density of states [LDOS(E_F,r=0)] and Li diffusion barriers. The second experiment uses ⁶Li as an adsorbate, also studied on Ru(001). The nuclear polarization is measured by beam foil spectroscopy. A novel particle detected (photon counting) Fourier transform NMR technique is demonstrated. This is done by observing the time-dependent flux of circularly polarized light emitted behind the foil after a 90° pulse has been employed at the surface. Electric field gradients and transverse relaxation times, T₂, are thus determined. A large difference between T₁ and T₂ is traced to the dimensionality of the system. Received: 21 March 1997/Accepted: 12 August 1997     

Adsorption of CO on Pd single crystal surfaces

Studies of CO adsorption on Pd(110), (210) and (311) surfaces as well as with a (111) plane with periodic step arrays were performed by means of LEED, contact potential and flash desorption measurements. Isosteric heats of adsorption were evaluated from adsorption isotherms. Earlier work with Pd(111) and Pd (100) surfaces is briefly reviewed, yielding the following general picture: The initial adsorption energies vary between 34 and $\text{40}\text{kcal}\text{mole}$ and close similarities exist for the dipole moments, the maximum densities of adsorbed particles and for the adsorption kinetics. At low and medium coverage the adsorbed particles are located at highly symmetrical adsorption sites, whereas saturation is characterized by the tendency for formation of close-packed layers.     

Theory of ion neutralisation scattering from surfaces

A method for the calculation of the probability of neutralisation of an ion, which is scattered from the surface of a solid is presented. It assumes the ion to move along a classical trajectory and solves for the time evolution operator for the electronic system. For one electron Hamiltonians the solution can be carried out exactly. Results are presented for scattering from a semi-infinite linear chain.     

Adsorption of oxygen on silver single crystal surfaces

The adsorption of oxygen on Ag(110), (111), and (100) surfaces has been investigated by LEED, Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and by the measurement of work function changes and of kinetics, at and above room temperature and at oxygen pressures up to 10^?5Torr. Extreme conditions of cleanliness were necessary to exclude the disturbing influences, which seem to have plagued earlier measurements. Extensive results were obtained on the (110) face. Adsorption proceeds with an initial sticking coefficient of about 3 × 10^?3 at 300 K, which drops very rapidly with coverage. Dissociative adsorption via a precursor is inferred. The work function change is strictly proportional to coverage and can therefore be used to follow adsorption and desorption kinetics; at saturation, ΔΦ ≈ 0.85 eV. Adsorption proceeds by the growth of chains of oxygen atoms perpendicular to the grooves of the surface. The chains keep maximum separation by repulsive lateral interactions, leading to a consecutive series of (n × 1) superstructures in LEED, with n running from 7 to 2. The initial heat of adsorption is found to be 40 kcal/mol. Complicated desorption kinetics are found in temperature-programmed and isothermal desorption measurements. The results are discussed in terms of structural and kinetic models. Very small and irreproducible effects were observed on the (111) face which is interpreted in terms of a general inertness of the close-packed face and of some adsorption at irregularities. On the (100) face, oxygen adsorbs in a disordered structure; from ΔΦ measurements two adsorption states are inferred, between which a temperature-dependent equilibrium seems to exist.     

Adsorption of hydrogen on palladium single crystal surfaces

The adsorption of hydrogen on clean Pd(110) and Pd(111) surfaces as well as on a Pd(111) surface with regular step arrays was studied by means of LEED, thermal desorption spectroscopy and contact potential measurements. Absorption in the bulk plays an important role but could be separated from the surface processes. With Pd(110) an ordered 1 × 2 structure and with Pd(111) a 1 × 1 structure was formed. Maximum work function increases of 0.36, 0.18 and 0.23 eV were determined with Pd(110), Pd(111) and the stepped surface, respectively, this quantity being influenced only by adsorbed hydrogen under the chosen conditions. The adsorption isotherms derived from contact potential data revealed that at low coverages θ ∞ √p_H2, indicating atomic adsorption. Initial heats of H₂ adsorption of 24.4 kcal/mole for Pd(110) and of 20.8 kcal/mole for Pd(111) were derived, in both cases E_ad being constant up to at least half the saturation coverage. With the stepped surface the adsorption energies coincide with those for Pd(111) at medium coverages, but increase with decreasing coverage by about 3 kcal/mole. D₂ is adsorbed on Pd(110) with an initial adsorption energy of 22.8 kcal/mole.     

Random surfaces that suppress single scattering

We present a method for numerically generating a one-dimensional random surface, defined by the equation x(3)=zeta(x(1)), that suppresses single-scattering processes in the scattering of light from the surface within a specified range of scattering angles. Rigorous numerical calculations of the scattering of light from surfaces generated by this approach show that the single-scattering contribution to the mean scattered intensity is indeed suppressed within that range of angles.     

Unoccupied surface resonances on aluminum single crystal surfaces

Surface resonances above the Fermi level of Aluminum have been observed using surface soft-X-ray absorption spectroscopy. These surface resonances occur at 4.3 eV above the L_2.3 absorption threshold on the Aluminum (100) surface and at 12.1 eV on the Aluminum (111) surface. Excited state and surface EXAFS aspects of the spectra are discussed.     

Element-selective spin polarization analysis of surfaces by spin-polarized ion scattering spectroscopy

We discuss the validity of surface spin polarization analysis with element selectivity using spin-polarized ion scattering spectroscopy (SP-ISS). We examined the control of the incident ⁴He⁺ spins and successfully conducted magnetic hysteresis measurement on an Fe(100) surface. The spin polarization of the Fe(100) surface exposed to O₂ atmosphere measured by spin-polarized ion neutralization spectroscopy was consistent with that reported by spin-polarized metastable de-excitation spectroscopy. The element selectivity of SP-ISS is discussed in terms of ion neutralization, re-ionization, and multiple scattering.     

Electron-spin-dependent 4He+ ion scattering on Bi surfaces

We studied low-energy (～ 1.55 keV) electron-spin-polarized ⁴He⁺ ion scattering on a Bi(111) ultrathin film epitaxially grown on a Si(111) substrate. We observed that the scattered ion intensity differed between the incident He⁺ ions with up and down spins even though Bi is a non-magnetic element. To analyze the origin of this spin-dependent ion scattering (the spin asymmetry), we investigated the detailed relationship between the spin asymmetry and the incident angle, the azimuthal angle, the scattering angle, and the incident energy. All the data indicate that the spin asymmetry originates from the scattering cross section owing to the non-central force in the He⁺–Bi atom binary collision. The non-central force is most likely attributed to the spin–orbit coupling that acts transiently on the He⁺ 1s electron spin in the binary collision.