Abstract

Laser induced desorption (LID) has been recently employed by several groups to determine the diffusion coefficients of small molecules on metal surfaces. The LID method uses a pulsed laser to deplete a well-defined region of the adsorbate-covered surface, thereby setting up a concentration gradient. By refilling the originally depleted area with an isotopically labelled molecule, we are able to compare the diffusion rate of CO/Ni (100) at saturation coverage with and without a concentration gradient.

© 1987 Optical Society of America