Date Published:

NOV 15

Abstract:

The diffraction of thermal He atoms from mixed Xe + Kr monolayers on Pt(111) was measured, and the results were compared with theoretical studies of these systems. The results shed light on the structural properties of these disordered systems, and on their relation to the He diffraction intensities. Experimentally, the specular (0,0), the (1,0), and the (2,0) Bragg peak intensities were measured for monolayers of different Kr:Xe concentration ratios. The theoretical calculations included Monte Carlo simulations of the mixed disordered monolayers, and quantum calculations in the Sudden approximation of the scattering intensities from the simulated disordered structures. The following main results were obtained: (1) Both experiment and the Monte Carlo simulations suggest that the mixed Xe + Kr monolayers are periodic for all Xe:Kr concentration ratios, the lattice constant varies linearly with the Xe:Kr ratio. The domain size of the 2D crystals, from experiment and theory, is found to be larger than 100 angstrom. (2) The Monte Carlo simulations suggest that the Xe + Kr monolayers form an almost ideal substitutionally disordered lattice. (3) Using a semiempirical Debye-Waller factor, reasonable agreement is found between the theoretical and the measured diffraction intensities, thus supporting the calculated structural model for the disordered surface. (4) The theoretical scattering calculations show that in addition to the diffraction peaks, there are also intensity maxima at non-Bragg positions. These are entirely due to the lattice disorder, and are identified as a recently found new type of Rainbow effect that can furnish important information on disordered surfaces. The results demonstrate the power of He scattering as a tool for exploring substitutionally disordered surfaces.