OBSERVATION OF MULTIPLE DISCRETE ENERGY-LOSSES IN AR+ SCATTERING FROM A CU(111) SURFACE

Abstract

We have measured the energy spectrum of neutral Ar atoms scattered through 5-degrees from a Cu(111) surface for an incident Ar+ beam of energy 3 keV and an incident angle to the surface plane of 3-degrees. A regularly spaced series of at least eleven energy loss peaks are observed in the scattering spectrum. We propose that a portion of the beam may be transiently adsorbed into an excited bound state of the Ar/Cu(111) system, in which it undergoes so-called skipping motion.