UC Riverside

Low-energy ion scattering is a powerful surface analysis technique for interrogating the structural and chemical makeup of a surface, as well as the electronic structure. We have used this technique to probe the local electrostatic potential of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈, and corroborated the findings of density functional theory. Sputtering was conducted on this same material, revealing the formation of a Bi capping layer that prevents further damage, due to the low surface energy of unsputtered Bi. Finally, scattering was used to investigate charge exchange of the Si(111) surface as a function of doping, a fundamental study that revealed the bulk band gap has a strong effect on neutralization of scattered ions, despite the work function being unchanged with added dopants.