1. Diffraction effects in the incident and exit paths of electrons backscattered from Cu(001) at medium energies
- Author
-
Frank Müller, Paul Steiner, M. A. Vicente Alvarez, G. Zampieri, Stefan Hüfner, and Dirk Reinicke
- Subjects
Physics ,Diffraction ,Reflection high-energy electron diffraction ,Forward scatter ,Polar ,Electron ,Photoelectric effect ,Atomic physics ,Symmetry (physics) ,Intensity (heat transfer) - Abstract
We analyze experimentally and theoretically the angular distribution of electrons backscattered from Cu(001) at medium energies. We present polar intensity plots (PIP's) of backscattered electrons with important qualitative differences with PIP's of x-ray photoemitted electrons acquired in similar conditions. In particular, our PIP's of backscattered electrons present peaks, ascribed to diffraction effects in the incident part of the electron trajectory, and a symmetry that are not observed in the PIP's of photoelectrons. The theoretical analysis has been made using a model presented recently to explain the change of the angular pattern in passing from low to medium energies. We present calculations performed including curved-wave-front and multiple-scattering effects that are in very good agreement with the experiments. The results show that the main structures in the PIP's are produced by forward-focusing interferences (similar to those of photoelectron diffraction) in either the incoming or the outgoing parts of the electron trajectory, and by interferences between waves with important forward scattering in both the incoming and outgoing parts of the electron trajectory.
- Published
- 1999