The influence of natural irregularities on surface electron scattering

Theoretical estimations of the influence of potential natural irregularities near semiconductor surface on the angular and energy dependences of different groups of electrons emitted by crystal have been made. The electrons of low and intermediate energies scattered from a crystal were analyzed. Orientational and resonance dependences were found to be the most sensitive to irregularity of the surface potential. The sensitivity of experimental methods of studying the effects observed can be significantly improved by using spin-polarized electrons. The proposed method can be effectively applied both to the investigation of electron scattering by semiconductor surface and to getting information on the crystal properties. Recommendations how to take account of the influence of surface potential natural irregularities on electron scattering in the experimental data processing are given.