Chapter 4 . Semiconductor Surface Studies Academic and Research Staff

Understanding the properties of surfaces of solids and the interactions of atoms and molecules with surfaces has been of extreme importance both from technological and academic points of view. The recent advent of ultrahigh vacuum technology has made microscopic studies of wellcharacterized surface systems possible. The way atoms move to reduce the energy of the surface, the number of layers of atoms involved in this reduction, the electronic and vibrational states that result from this movement, and the final symmetry of the surface layer are all of utmost importance in arriving at a fundamental and microscopic understanding of the nature of clean surfaces, chemisorption processes, and the initial stages of interface formation.