Experimental investigation of solid surfaces and the requirement for ultra-high vacuum

2 Experimental investigation of solid surfaces and the requirement for ultra-high vacuum 

The experimental and theoretical investigation of rough solid surfaces at the atomic (or molecular) level seems to be an almost intractable problem on a poorly defined surface, since any information obtained contains contributions from a myriad of different combinations of surface sites and chemical compositions. Thus, it is necessary to define precisely the chemical composition and structural, electronic states and bonding properties of molecules of the solid substrate under investigation, in order to ensure we obtain the same reproducible results from experiments. Application of several advanced spectroscopic 

Alternatively, samples prepared outside high vacuum conditions can be transferred into an ultra-high vacuum chamber for analysis after formation. This method is important in industry. For example, electrochemical methods in liquids give atomically clean crystalline 

On the other hand, optical microscopy, confocal microscopy, ellipsometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) are the main microscopic methods for imaging the surface structure. There are many good books and reviews on spectroscopic and chemical surface analysis methods and microscopy of surfaces description of the principles and application details of these advanced instrumental methods is beyond the scope of this book. 

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