The photoelectron diffraction technique applied to advanced materials

The photoelectron diffraction method is a local structural technique related to angle resolved photoemission. Its chemical sensitivity allows one to study local environments, both at surfaces and in thicker layers; this leads to a large range of applications. The origin of photoelectron diffraction is the interference of the photoelectron that exits from the crystal directly and the waves multiply scattered in the lattice. The interference pattern detected provides structural information that depends on the kinetic energy of the photoelectron. This technique can be an extremely useful tool for studying the atomic structure of advanced materials. We will show how to obtain an atomic structure in the case of the (3 x 2) reconstruction of cubic silicon carbide.