Electronic surface resonances and crystal surface structure

A new method of determination of the lateral structure of crystal surfaces is presented. The method is based on earlier work showing the existence of resonances in the elastic scattering of low-energy electrons at crystal surfaces. The method consists of: (a) Measurement of the surface resonance band structure Ek_∥E, k_∥ respectively denote the electron energy and surface-parallel momentum for which resonances occur) and (b) Interpretation of E(k_∥) to determine the lateral variation of the effective potential acting on electrons at the surface.The surface resonance band structure is measured by a net-current electron reflection method. The measurement method is basically the same as used previously but here its precision is greatly enhanced by the use of digital methods of data handling including a digital filter to remove background due to inelastic and non-resonance elastic scattering. The surface resonance band structure is interpreted by a two-dimensional nearly-free electron scheme. In this scheme the interaction elements are Fourier coefficients of an effective potential which is an average of a pseudopotential with respect to the depth distribution of electron density in a surface resonance — the surface-weighted pseudopotential. Experimental surface resonance band structure for Ni(001), Ni(001) p(2 × 2)O and two different Ni(001) c(2 × 2)O surfaces (one of them with an oxygen-saturated Ni substrate) are presented for E = 1–30 eV and k_∥ running halfway from $\text{}\text{?}$gG towards H? in the surface Brillouin zone for Ni(001). The experimental results are fitted, using the nearly-free electron scheme, to determine the Fourier coefficients of the surface-weighted pseudopotential. Surface potential variations synthesized from the above data are discussed in comparison with the atomic arrangements known from LEED. It is demonstrated that the new method can give a correct picture of the lateral structure of surfaces. It is emphasized that these results are obtained without costly equipment or computations called for by other methods.