Modern Techniques Of Surface Science

Revised and expanded second edition of the standard work on new techniques for studying solid surfaces.

This fully revised, updated and reorganised third edition provides a thorough introduction to the characterisation techniques used in surface science and nanoscience today. Each chapter brings together and compares the different techniques used to address a particular research question, including how to determine the surface composition, surface structure, surface electronic structure, surface microstructure at different length scales (down to sub-molecular), and the molecular character of adsorbates and their adsorption or reaction properties. Readers will easily understand the relative strengths and limitations of the techniques available to them and, ultimately, will be able to select the most suitable techniques for their own particular research purposes. This is an essential resource for researchers and practitioners performing materials analysis, and for senior undergraduate students looking to gain a clear understanding of the underlying principles and applications of the different characterisation techniques used in the field today.

The most important aspects of modern surface science are covered. All topics are presented in a concise and clear form accessible to a beginner. At the same time, the coverage is comprehensive and at a high technical level, with emphasis on the fundamental physical principles. Numerous examples, references, practice exercises, and problems complement this remarkably complete treatment, which will also serve as an excellent reference for researchers and practitioners. The textbook is idea for students in engineering and physical sciences.

The book describes the experimental techniques employed to study surfaces and interfaces. The emphasis is on the experimental method. Therefore all chapters start with an introduction of the scientific problem, the theory necessary to understand how the technique works and how to understand the results. Descriptions of real experimental setups, experimental results at different systems are given to show both the strength and the limits of the technique. In a final part the new developments and possible extensions of the techniques are presented. The included techniques provide microscopic as well as macroscopic information. They cover most of the techniques used in surface science.

This volume provides a comprehensive and up to the minute review of the techniques used to determine the nature and composition of surfaces. Originally published as a special issue of the Pergamon journal Vacuum, it comprises a carefully edited collection of chapters written by specialists in each of the techniques and includes coverage of the electron and ion spectroscopies, as well as the atom-imaging methods such as the atom probe field ion microscope and the scanning tunnelling microscope. Surface science is an important area of study since the outermost surface layers play a crucial role in processses such as catalysis, adhesion, wear, and corrosion, with applications in metallurgy, thin films and surface coatings, the chemicals and polymer industries, and microelectronics, to name a few. This book covers those techniques used routinely for surface analysis as well as those employed for more fundamental scientific studies. It will be of interest to university research workers, graduate students and to industrial scientists solving practical problems.

Surface science has existed as a recognized discipline for more than 20 years. During this period, the subject has expanded in two important ways. On the one hand, the techniques available for studying surfaces, both experimental and theoretical, have grown in number and in sophistication. On the other hand, surface science has been applied to an increasing number of areas of technology, such as catalysis, semicon ductor processing, new materials development, corrosion prevention, adhesion and tribology. . There is, however, no sharp division between fundamental and applied surface science. New techniques can immediately be applied to technologically important problems. Improvements in understanding of fundamental phenomena such as epi taxial growth of one metal on another, or the bonding of hydrocarbons to metal sur faces, to name just two examples, have direct consequences for technology. Surface science has also become very much an interdisciplinary subject; physics, chemistry, materials science, chemical and electronical engineering all draw upon and contribute to surface science. The intimate relationship between principles and applications of surface science forms the theme of this proceedings volume. The contributions were all presented as invited lectures at an Australian-German Workshop on Surface Science held at Coogee Beach, Sydney, Australia, in December 1991. The contributors, all active surface scientists in their respective countries, were asked to highlight recent develop ments in their own areas of activity involving new techniques, advances in funda mental understanding or new applications in technology.

Modern technologies increasingly rely on low-dimensional physics at interfaces and in thin-films and nano-structures. Surface science holds a key position in providing the experimental methods and theoretical models for a basic understanding of these effects. This book includes case studies and status reports about research topics such as: surface structure determination by tensor-LEED and surface X-ray diffraction; the preparation and detection of low-dimensional electronic surface states; quantitative surface compositional analysis; the dynamics of adsorption and reaction of adsorbates, e.g. kinetic oscillations; the characterization and control of thin-film and multilayer growth including the influence of surfactants; a critical assessment of the surface physics approach to heterogeneous catalysis.