electron diffraction

electron diffraction [i′lek‚trän di′frak·shən]

(physics)

The phenomenon associated with the interference processes which occur when electrons are scattered by atoms in crystals to form diffraction patterns.

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Electron diffraction

The phenomenon associated with interference processes that occur when electrons are scattered by atoms to form diffraction patterns. The wave character of electrons is shown most strikingly, and doubtless most conclusively, by the phenomena of interference. For this reason, the diffraction of electrons presents the most obvious confirmation of quantum mechanics. Because of the dependence of the diffraction pattern on the distances between the atoms, electron diffraction is also an important tool for the study of the structure of crystals and of free molecules, analogous to the use of x-rays for these purposes. See X-ray crystallography, X-ray diffraction

According to energy E = eV (where e is electron charge and V is potential difference), two major techniques of structure analysis with electron beams are distinguished: low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) [E ≃ 5–500 eV] and high-energy electron diffraction (HEED) [E ≃ 5–500 keV]. In addition, electrons generated in condensed matter by incident electrons or x-ray photons are diffracted (in Auger electron diffraction and photoelectron diffraction). Unlike neutrons and x-rays, electrons penetrate matter only for a very short distance before they lose energy (by inelastic scattering) or are scattered elastically (diffracted). See Coherence, Diffraction, Interference of waves, Mean free path, Quantum mechanics

Low-energy electron diffraction

LEED is used mainly for the study of the structure of single-crystal surfaces and of processes on such surfaces that are associated with changes in the lateral periodicity of the surface. A monochromatic, nearly parallel electron beam, of 10^-4 to 10^-3 m (4 × 10^-3 to 4 × 10^-2 in.) in diameter, strikes the surface, usually at normal incidence. The elastically backscattered electrons are separated from all other electrons by a retarding field and detected with a suitable movable collector or, more frequently on a hemispherical fluorescent screen with the crystal in its center. The intensity of the diffraction spots can be measured as a function of the energy of the incident electrons to obtain so-called I(V) curves.

The most important contribution of LEED is to the understanding of chemisorption, which precedes corrosion and, in many cases, epitaxy. Here, not only the structure of many adsorption systems, mainly of gases on metals, or metals on other metals and semiconductors, has been studied, but also the kinetics of the adsorption and desorption process as well as changes in the adsorption layer upon heating. The combination of LEED with Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and with work-function measurements has proven particularly powerful in these studies, because such methods give the coverage and information on the location of the adsorbed atoms normal to the surface. Combining LEED with other complementary techniques such as ion scattering spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, or photoelectron spectroscopy has become increasingly popular and can enable the elimination of ambiguities in the interpretation of many LEED results. See Auger effect, Surface physics

High-energy electron diffraction

HEED is used mainly for the study of the structure of thin foils, films, and small particles (thickness or diameter of 10^-9 to 10^-6 m or 4 × 10^-8 to 4 × 10^-5 in.), of molecules, and also of the surfaces of crystalline materials. A monochromatic, usually nearly parallel, electron beam with a diameter of 10^-3 to 10^-8 m (4 × 10^-2 to 4 × 10^-7 in.) is incident on the target. The forward-scattered electrons (backscattering is negligible) are detected by means of a fluorescent screen, a photoplate, or some other current-sensitive detector, usually without the inelastically scattered electrons being eliminated.

Similar to LEED, reflection HEED (RHEED) can be used for the determination of the lateral arrangement of the atoms in the topmost layers of the surface, including the structure of adsorbed layers. Although it is more convenient to deduce the periodicity of the atomic arrangement parallel to the surface from LEED patterns than from RHEED patterns, LEED frequently becomes inapplicable when the surface is rough. This usually occurs in the later stages of corrosion or in precipitation. In such investigations RHEED is far superior to LEED because the fast electrons can penetrate the asperities and produce a transmission HEED (THEED) pattern. RHEED has become particularly important for thin-film growth monitoring via the specular beam intensity oscillations caused by monolayer-by-monolayer growth. See Crystal growth

In scanning HEED (SHEED) the diffracted electrons are not recorded on photographic film but are directly measured electronically with sensitive detectors. By moving the detector across the diffraction pattern or by deflecting the diffracted electrons across a stationary detector (scanning), the intensity distribution in the diffraction pattern can be displayed quantitatively on an XY recorder. The main application of SHEED is in the study of processes which are accompanied by changes of the intensity distribution, such as the growth of thin films and annealing and corrosion processes.

The technological importance of thin film and interface devices has led to an upsurge of thin film growth studies by conventional transmission HEED (THEED), usually combined with transmission electron microscopy. Information obtained this way has been mainly on the orientation of the crystallites composing the film.

Diffraction in gases and liquids

Electron diffraction in gases and liquids is similar in principle to that in solids; the differences arise from the lack in gases and liquids of any highly regular arrangement of the component atoms. In gases the low density makes it possible to study diffraction by individual atoms and molecules. The results obtained from monatomic gases represent the density of electronic charge in the atom as a function of the distance from the nucleus. The results from gaseous polyatomic molecules represent the equilibrium distances between the atomic nuclei and the average amplitudes of vibration associated with these distances. Liquids have been studied much less thoroughly than have gases. See Neutron diffraction, Scattering experiments (atoms and molecules), Scattering experiments (nuclei)