Fast interaction of atoms with crystal surfaces: coherent lighting

Atoms, 2018

Coherence properties of projectiles, found relevant in ion-atom collisions, are investigated by analyzing the influence of the degree of coherence of the atomic beam on interference patterns produced by grazing-incidence fast-atom diffraction (GIFAD or FAD). The transverse coherence length of the projectiles, which depends on the incidence conditions and the collimating setup, determines the overall characteristics of GIFAD distributions. We show that for atoms scattered from a LiF(001) surface after a given collimation, we can modify the interference signatures of the angular spectra by varying the total impact energy, while keeping the normal energy as a constant. Also, the role played by the geometry of the collimating aperture is analyzed, comparing results for square and circular openings. Furthermore, we study the spot-beam effect, which is due to different focus points of the impinging particles. We show that when a region narrower than a single crystallographic channel is co...

arXiv: Atomic Physics, 2018

Grazing incidence fast atom diffraction (GIFAD or FAD) is a sensitive tool for surface analysis, which strongly relies on the quantum coherence of the incident beam. In this article the influence of the incidence conditions and the projectile mass on the visibility of the FAD patterns is addressed. Both parameters determine the transverse coherence length of the impinging particles, which governs the general features of FAD distributions. We show that by varying the impact energy, while keeping the same collimating setup and normal energy, it is possible to control the interference mechanism that prevails in FAD patterns. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the contribution coming from different positions of the focus point of the incident particles, which gives rise to the spot-beam effect, allows projectiles to explore different zones of a single crystallographic channel when a narrow surface area is coherently lighted. In this case the spot-beam effect gives also rise to a non-coherent background, which contributes to the gradual quantum-classical transition of FAD spectra. Present results are compared with available experimental data, making evident that the inclusion of focusing effects is necessary for the proper theoretical description of the experimental distributions.

The influence of the collimating conditions of the incident beam on diffraction patterns produced by grazing scattering of fast atoms off crystal surfaces is studied within a semiquantum approach, called the surface initial value representation (SIVR) approximation. In this approach we incorporate a realistic description of the incident particle in terms of the collimating parameters, which determine the surface area that is coherently illuminated. The model is applied to He atoms colliding with a LiF(001) surface after passing through a rectangular aperture. As was experimentally observed [Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. B 350, 99 (2015)], SIVR spectra as a function of the azimuthal angle are very sensitive to the width of the collimating slit. We also found that the length of the collimating aperture affects polar angle distributions, introducing additional interference structures for the longer collimating slits.

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 2016

Diffraction patterns produced by fast He atoms grazingly impinging on a LiF(001) surface are investigated focusing on the influence of the beam collimation. Single-and double-slit collimating devices situated in front of the beam source are considered. To describe the scattering process we use the Surface Initial Value Representation (SIVR) approximation, which is a semi-quantum approach that incorporates a realistic description of the initial wave packet in terms of the collimating parameters. Our initial wave-packet model is based on the Van Cittert-Zernike theorem. For a singleslit collimation the width of the collimating aperture controls the shape of the azimuthal angle distribution, making different interference mechanisms visible, while the length of the slit affects the polar angle distribution. Additionally, we found that by means of a double-slit collimation it might be possible to obtain a wide polar angle distribution, which is associated with a large spread of the initial momentum perpendicular to the surface, derived from the uncertainty principle. It might be used as a simple way to probe the surface potential for different normal distances.

2009

Diffraction patterns produced by grazing scattering of fast atoms from insulator surfaces are used to examine the atom-surface interaction. The method is applied to He atoms colliding with a LiF(001) surface along axial crystallographic channels. The projectile-surface potential is obtained from an accurate DFT calculation, which includes polarization and surface relaxation. For the description of the collision process we employ

Angular distributions of fast Ne atoms after grazing collisions with a LiF(0 0 1) surface under axial surface channeling conditions are experimentally and theoretically studied. We use the surface eikonal approximation to describe the quantum interference of scattered projectiles, while the atom-surface interaction is represented by means of a pairwise additive potential, including the polarization of the projectile atom. Experimental data serve as a benchmark to investigate the performance of the proposed potential model, analyzing the role played by the projectile polarization.

2009

Fast helium atoms diffracted at alkali-halide surfaces under grazing angles of incidence exhibit intriguing diffraction patterns. The persistence of quantum coherence is remarkable, considering high surface temperatures and high (keV) kinetic energies of the incident atoms. Dissipative and decohering effects such as the momentum transfer between the incident helium atoms and the surface influence the diffraction patterns and control the width of the diffraction peaks, but they are weak enough to preserve the visibility of the diffration patterns. We perform an ab initio simulation of the quantum diffraction of fast helium beams at a LiF (100) surface in the ⟨110⟩ direction. Our results agree well with recent experimental diffraction data.

The striking observation of interference structures produced by grazing impact of fast atoms on crystal surfaces reported a few years ago [1,2] has given rise to the development of a powerful surface analysis technique. This article gives a brief account of the main features of the process, using the Surface Eikonal (SE) approximation as a theoretical tool to analyze the different mechanisms responsible for the quantum interference. The SE approach is a semiclassical method based on the use of the eikonal wave function, which takes into account the coherent superposition of transition amplitudes for different axially channeled trajectories. It has proved to provide a quite good description of experimental diffraction patterns for different collision systems.

Physical Review A, 2016

We theoretically address grazing incidence fast atom diffraction (GIFAD) for H atoms impinging on a LiF(001) surface. Our model combines a description of the H-LiF(001) interaction obtained from Density Functional Theory calculations with a semi-quantum treatment of the dynamics. We analyze simulated diffraction patterns in terms of the incidence channel, the impact energy associated with the motion normal to the surface, and the relevance of Van der Waals (VdW) interactions. We then contrast our simulations with experimental patterns for different incidence conditions. Our most important finding is that, for normal energies lower than 0.5 eV and incidence along the 100 channel, the inclusion of Van der Waals interactions in our potential energy surface yields a greatly improved accord between simulations and experiments. This agreement strongly suggests a non-negligible role of Van der Waals interactions in H/LiF(001) GIFAD in the low-to-intermediate normal energy regime.

Physical Review A, 2009

Diffraction patterns produced by grazing scattering of fast atoms from insulator surfaces are used to examine the atom-surface interaction. The method is applied to He atoms colliding with a LiF(001) surface along axial crystallographic channels. The projectile-surface potential is obtained from an accurate DFT calculation, which includes polarization and surface relaxation. For the description of the collision process we employ the surface eikonal approximation, which takes into account quantum interference between different projectile paths. The dependence of projectile spectra on the parallel and perpendicular incident energies is experimentally and theoretically analyzed, determining the range of applicability of the proposed model.