Low-energy electron diffraction

Abstract

Abstract This paper provides a brief introduction to the theory and practice of low-energy electron diffraction, a tcchnique which is proving useful for investigating the structure of surfaces. Emphasis is given to clean well-defined surfaces which are studied also with Auger electron spectroscopy and under conditions of ultra-high vacuum. Knowledge of surface structure is of fundamental and technological interest, and, although only two-dimensional periodicities in surface regions are obtained directly from diffraction patterns, even this has led to the discovery of unexpected structural arrangements. Recently there has been substantial progress in the understanding of diffracted beam intensities, and procedures are reviewed for extracting surface structures from measured intensities.