Structure determination by low-energy electron diffraction—A roadmap to the future

Abstract

Of all experimental Surface Science techniques, LEED-IV surface crystallography delivers the most complete set of crystallographic data for the near-surface regions (down to $\approx 10$ Å below the surface) of ordered single crystal surfaces. In the last five decades a large number of surface structures have been determined but theoretical and experimental procedures need to be adopted to meet the requirements of new directions in Surface Science. In this perspective article approaches will be discussed for extracting structural information from disordered and rough surfaces, increasing the experimental data set for large unit cells with complex unit cells, improving the scattering potentials used to calculate LEED-IV curves, and expanding the pressure range of the technique.