Surface coordination of adatoms by scanned low energy photoelectron diffraction

In this article, a brief overview of the current activity in the field of low energy photoelectron diffraction is presented. Although alternatively angle and energy-scanned photoelectron diffraction can be used to obtain the surface-structural information, we limit our discussion to the low energy and energy-scanned modes and their use in connection with anew developed direct method. By the use of this most recent approach, adatom-substrate distances and adsorption sites are directly revealed from a discrete mapping of the Fourier transform of scanned energy photoelectron diffraction spectra, measured at a representative set of geometries, which depend on the symmetry of the particular studied system. In addition, a short discussion on the determination of the detailed structure of adsorbed overlayers by the traditional trial-and-error method is included, using model multiple scattering calculations. These latest developments are illustrated with a specific example of an atomic adsorbate, and comments about the capabilities and limitations of photoelectron diffraction as a structural technique in new fields.