Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy and Surface Vibrations

Book excerpt: Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy and Surface Vibrations is devoted to electron energy loss spectroscopy as a probe of the crystal surface. Electrons with energy in the range of a few electron volts sample only a few atomic layers. As they approach or exit from the crystal, they interact with the vibrational modes of the crystal surface, or possibly with other elementary excitations localized there. The energy spectrum of electrons back-reflected from the surface is thus a rich source of information on its dynamics. The book opens with a detailed analysis of the physics that controls the opera ...