Circularly polarized X-ray photoelectron diffraction: Stereo photograph of atomic arrangement

Abstract We have developed a new method, “stereo atomscope”, to obtain a stereophotograph of the three-dimensional atomic arrangement around specific atom at the surface, with which one can view the three-dimensional atomic arrangement directly by the naked eyes. The azimuthal shifts of forward-focusing peaks in the photoelectron angular distribution pattern obtained with left and right helicity light are the same as the parallax in a stereo view. Taking advantage of this phenomenon of circular dichroism in the photoelectron angular distribution, one can realize a stereoscope of atomic arrangement. A display-type spherical-mirror analyzer can obtain stereoscopic photographs directly on the screen without any computer-aided conversion process. As the acquisition time of the stereophotograph became shorter, the real-time stereo observation will be possible in the near future.