Diffraction of fast atomic projectiles during grazing scattering from a LiF(001) surface

Light atoms and molecules with energies from 300 eV to 25 keV are scattered under a grazing angle of incidence from a LiF(001) surface. For impact of neutral projectiles along low index directions for strings of atoms in the surface plane we observe a defined pattern of intensity spots in the angular distribution of reflected particles which is consistently described using concepts of diffraction theory and specific features of grazing scattering of atoms from insulator surfaces. Experimental results for scattering of H, D, 3He, and 4He atoms as well as H2 and D2 molecules can be unequivocally referred to atom diffraction with de Broglie wavelengths as low as about 0.001 Angstroms.