Scattering of potassium atomic beams from various cleaved surfaces

Scattering of potassium atomic beams from cleaved surfaces of LiF, KCl and mica were studied. The observed spatial distributions follow the cosine distribution in most cases. At large incident angles the distributions from LiF and KCl deviate from the cosine and show apparent backscatterings. A simple model is proposed to interpret the backscattering in terms of macroscopic roughness of cleaved surfaces. The sticking coefficient S (t) is defined and the mass balance between the incident and outgoing atoms is examined. Mass balance holds within the limits of errors on the surfaces of LiF and KCl at temperatures above 400 K. On a mica surface deposition of potassium atoms is observed even at temperatures higher than room temperature. It is shown from the change of the sticking coefficient that the deposition does not proceed linearly in the initial period.