Maxime Debiossac

Elastic and inelastic diffraction of fast atoms, Debye-Waller factor, and Mössbauer-Lamb-Dicke regime

The diffraction of fast atoms at crystal surfaces is ideal for a detailed investigation of the surface electronic density. However, instead of sharp diffraction spots, most experiments show elongated streaks characteristic of inelastic diffraction. This paper describes these inelastic profiles in terms of individual inelastic collisions with surface atoms taking place along the projectile trajectory and leading to vibrational excitation of the local Debye oscillator. A quasi-elastic regime where only one inelastic event contributes is identified as well as a mixed quantum-classical regime were several inelastic collision are involved. These regimes describe a smooth evolution of the scattering profiles from sharp spots to elongated streaks merging progressively into the classical diffusion regime.

Image processing for grazing incidence fast atom diffraction

Abstract Grazing incidence fast atom diffraction (GIFAD, or FAD) has developed as a surface sensitive technique. Compared with thermal energies helium diffraction (TEAS or HAS), GIFAD is less sensitive to thermal decoherence but also more demanding in terms of surface coherence, the mean distance between defects. Such high quality surfaces can be obtained from freshly cleaved crystals or in a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) chamber where a GIFAD setup has been installed allowing in situ operation. Based on recent publications by Atkinson et al. (2014) and Debiossac et al. (2014), the paper describes in detail the basic steps needed to measure the relative intensities of the diffraction spots. Care is taken to outline the underlying physical assumptions.

Active correction of the tilt angle of the surface plane with respect to the rotation axis during azimuthal scan

A procedure to measure the residual tilt angle ττ between a flat surface and the azimuthal rotation axis of the sample holder is described. When the incidence angle θθ and readout of the azimuthal angle ϕϕ are controlled by motors, an active compensation mechanism can be implemented to reduce the effect of the tilt angle during azimuthal motion. After this correction, the effective angle of incidence is kept fixed, and only a small residual oscillation of the scattering plane remains.