Decoherence in grazing scattering of fast H and He atoms from a LiF(001) surface

作者：Busch M^*; Lienemann J; Seifert J; Schueller A; Winter H

来源：Vacuum, 2012, 86(10): 1618-1623.

DOI：10.1016/j.vacuum.2011.12.012

• Fast atom diffraction
• Grazing scattering
• Insulator surfaces
• LiF(001)
• Interaction potentials

The influence of decoherence on the diffraction during grazing scattering of fast hydrogen and helium atoms from a LiF(001) single crystal surface with projectile energies of some key, is investigated by two-dimensional angular distributions for scattered projectiles in coincidence with their energy loss and emitted electrons from the target surface. For keV hydrogen atoms, we identify the excitations of electrons and excitons of the target surface as the dominant mechanisms for decoherence, whereas for key helium atoms these contributions are negligibly small. The suppression of electronic excitations owing to the band gap of insulators plays an essential role for preserving quantum coherence and thus for the application of fast atom diffraction as a surface analytical tool.

• 出版日期2012-4-27