Surface structure characterization by X-ray photoelectron diffraction of Sn ultra-thin films deposited on Pd(111)

Abstract The formation of surface alloys obtained by annealing ultra-thin films of Sn deposited on a Pd(111) surface was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD). Annealing the surface at 600 K produced a ( 3 x 3 )R30 o LEED pattern, and the comparison between experimental and theoretical XPD results indicated the formation of a corrugated bi-dimensional Pd 2 Sn surface alloy, with Sn atoms being present not only on the outmost layer but also at least on the second internal layer.