Manifestation of flat and rippled surface reliefs of platinum foils in LEED patterns

Abstract

The atomic structure and surface relief of a polycrystalline platinum foil upon rolling and subsequent recrystallization in ultrahigh vacuum have been studied by low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The symmetry of LEED patterns shows that the surface structure of recrystallized platinum foil corresponds to (111) face, but different shapes of diffraction maxima are indicative of a diversity of the geometric relief. AFM data reveal various types of the surface relief, including flat, rippled in one direction, and differently oriented, which are considered in comparison to the corresponding LEED patterns. Using the established laws, it is possible to trace the formation of various reliefs by diffraction techniques without using probe methods.