Cu(111) electron band structure and channeling by VLEED

Abstract

Very-low-energy electron diffraction (VLEED) intensities from clean Cu(111) surface have been measured in detail in the energy range 15–35 eV by low energy electron microscope. Corresponding theoretical I- V curves are obtained in good agreement with experimental data when the anisotropy of the electron attenuation is taken into account. Coincidence of peaks in the I- V curves at normal incidence with two kinds of energy gaps of the electron band structure of the copper crystal ( E k ‖ = 0 ) is interpreted. The small width of the resonance peak in the I- V curve at normal incidence is explained in terms of electron surface channeling.