Surface adsorption structure determination using backscattering photoelectron diffraction

Abstract

Following a brief historical introduction, the distinction between two modes of photoelectron diffraction, high-energy forward scattering and low energy backscattering, and two modes of data collection, angle-scan and energy-scan, is explained. This is followed by a review of energy-scan backscattering photoelectron diffraction (PhD). Examples are presented of atomic adsorption and molecular adsorption on metal surfaces and molecular adsorption on oxide surfaces. The paper ends with a brief survey of future prospects for the application of the PhD technique.