Studies were made of the grazing scattering of 25keV H+ and He+ ions from clean Fe (001) surfaces and from sub-monolayer films of Cr and Mn on Fe (001). It was found that that the angular distribution of the reflected ions depended directly upon the defect structure of the uppermost surface layer. Surface defects of various dimensions (thermal displacements, steps, islands) could be distinguished, via their characteristic effects upon scattering. Computer simulations which were based upon the binary collision approximation permitted a quantitative analysis to be made of the data.

Effects of Defect Structures at Surfaces and Thin Films on Grazing Scattering of Fast Ions R.Pfandzelter: Physical Review B, 1998, 57[24], 15496-506