Atomic structure of solid surfaces

Atomic-beam diffraction was first demonstrated in 1930, as a verification of the concept of the de Broglie wave (Estermann and Stem, 1930). In the 1970s, it was developed into an extremely informative method for determining topography and atomic structure of solid surfaces (Steele, 1974 Goodman and Wachman, 1976). 

It is now well established that the structure of a thermally equilibrated surface may be quite different from that obtained by simply truncating a solid.10 Surface atoms may rearrange to form a structure according to the lowest surface free energy of that surface. The determination of the atomic structure of solid surfaces is one of the important endeavors in surface science, as the atomic structure will decide both the physical and the chemical properties of the surfaces. Surface reconstruction will also play an important role in the crystal growth and epitaxy of thin films. 

F. Ogletree and M. Salmerdn. Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and the Atomic Structure of Solid Surfaces, Prog. Solid State Chem. 20 235 (1990). 

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