He atom diffraction from a silicide precipitate on a Pt(100) surface

We have observed the formation of an ordered silicide at the surface of a nominally pure Pt(100) crystal. The silicide appears after thermally activated migration of a trace Si impurity (<10^?4 at%) and subsequent cooling. The silicide is about one monolayer thick and forms a large area unit mesh, $\text{(6}\text{2}\text{×6}\text{2}\text{)R45°}$, which is observed with both He diffraction and LEED. A thermal attenuation analysis of the specular and a diffracted He beam yields a consistent value for the attractive depth of the He-surface potential D=13 meV. From a simple classical analysis of the He diffraction pattern we have obtained an estimate for the corrugation of the He-surface potential, $\text{ξ=0.07}\text{A}\text{?}$. The well depth D is shown to be consistent with the wavelength dependence of the angular distribution of the diffraction pattern.