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Temporal and spatial resolution of scattered and recoiled atoms for surface elemental and structural analysis
Author(s) -
Rabalais J. W.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9918(199904)27:4<171::aid-sia460>3.0.co;2-e
Subject(s) - scattering , ion , image resolution , resolution (logic) , detector , computational physics , microchannel plate detector , physics , materials science , atomic physics , optics , computer science , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence
Developments in low‐energy ion scattering over the past 10years have led to new techniques for surface elemental and structuralanalyses. The fundamental physics involved in these new methods issummarized herein and some examples of the applications of thetechniques are presented. Three major new developments areconsidered. First, time‐of‐flight scattering andrecoiling spectrometry (ToF‐SARS) takes advantage ofToF techniques to detect simultaneously both ions and fast neutralsthat are scattered and recoiled from surfaces. Elemental analyses areobtained by application of binary collision theory, and structuralanalyses are performed by rotation of the sample in order to measureintensity changes as a function of incident and azimuthal angles.Second, scattering and recoiling imaging spectrometry(SARIS) takes advantage of a largeposition‐sensitive microchannel plate detector, coupled withToF techniques, to capture element‐specific,time‐resolved, spatial and intensity distributions ofscattered and recoiled atoms from surfaces. These images combineatomic scale microscopy and spatial averaging because they arecreated from a macroscopic surface area but they are directly relatedto the atomic arrangement of the surface at the subnanoscale level;the features of the images are sensitive to changes in interatomicspacings at a level of <0.1 Å. Third, a classical iontrajectory simulation program, called scattering and recoilingimaging code (SARIC), which is designed specifically forstructural interpretation of ToF‐SARS and SARIS data, has beendeveloped. This program allows quantitative comparison ofexperimental and simulated data for surface structure determinations.Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.