Over the past few years, there has been a growing awareness of the vibratio nal properties of solid surfaces and adsorbates due to a steady growth in the number of experimental techniques which have evolved with sufficient resolution and surface sensitivity. An understanding of the surface vibratio nal modes is of fundamental importance in many areas of the physics and chemistry of surfaces, most notably in the field of heterogeneous catalysis on metals and alloys. The present volume derives from a one day meeting of invited lectures, held under the auspices of the Thin Films and Surfaces Section of the Insti tute of Physics in the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 13 December 1979. The object was to bring together specialists from various diverse fields who would examine the wide variety of methods currently avail able for studying surface adsorbate vibrations. Since these methods cover several scientific disciplines, it was subsequently felt that it would be useful to provide a permanent record of the talks as a source lor future reference by workers in what is rapidly becoming an expanding field of',inter est in an increasing number of laboratories. The contributions, however, are not in any way meant to constitute exhaustive reviews.

Here, top international authors in the field of STM and surface science present first-class contributions on this hot topic, bringing the reader up to date with the latest developments in this rapidly advancing field. The focus is on the nanoscale, particularly in relation to catalysis, involving developments in our understanding of the nature of the surfaces of oxides and nanoparticulate materials, as well as adsorption, and includes in-situ studies of catalysis on such model materials. Of high interest to practitioners of surface science, nanoscience, STM and catalysis.

The bonding, chemistry and ordering of molecular adsorbates on well defined single crystal surfaces and in ultrathin films was to be studied in an effort to develop sufficient fundamental understanding to allow the controlled preparation of anisotropic ultrathin films of organic monolayers. In this research the authors combine the use of optical probes (Raman spectroscopy, laser induced thermal desorption with Fourier transform mass spectrometry detection) with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and conventional methods of UHV surface science (Auger electron spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, low energy electron diffraction, and thermal desorption spectroscopy). The conventional surface probes provide well tested methods for the preparation and characterization of single crystal substrates. The optical probes used in the experiments provide powerful methods for the molecular identification of adsorbates in monolayers and ultrathin films. Scanning tunneling microscopy provides one with the ability to determine the detailed molecular level ordering of the molecular adsorbates. The emphasis of this research is on more complex molecular absorbates some of which are monomer precursors to ultrathin polymer films. Enhanced methods of Raman spectroscopy have been developed for the study of monolayer adsorbates on surfaces in ultrahigh vacuum environments. This report gives an overview of recent research results, including the construction of UHV variable temperature STM, analysis of STM images, growth and chemistry of intermetallic single crystal ultrathin films, and electron beam induced chemistry of tetracyanoquinodimethane.

Over the past few years, there has been a growing awareness of the vibratio nal properties of solid surfaces and adsorbates due to a steady growth in the number of experimental techniques which have evolved with sufficient resolution and surface sensitivity. An understanding of the surface vibratio nal modes is of fundamental importance in many areas of the physics and chemistry of surfaces, most notably in the field of heterogeneous catalysis on metals and alloys. The present volume derives from a one day meeting of invited lectures, held under the auspices of the Thin Films and Surfaces Section of the Insti tute of Physics in the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 13 December 1979. The object was to bring together specialists from various diverse fields who would examine the wide variety of methods currently avail able for studying surface adsorbate vibrations. Since these methods cover several scientific disciplines, it was subsequently felt that it would be useful to provide a permanent record of the talks as a source lor future reference by workers in what is rapidly becoming an expanding field of',inter est in an increasing number of laboratories. The contributions, however, are not in any way meant to constitute exhaustive reviews.

Inelastic Electron Tunneling Spectroscopy (IETS) with the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) is a novel vibrational spectroscopy technique that permits to characterize very subtle properties of molecules adsorbed on metallic surfaces. Its proposed symmetry-based propensity selection rules, however, fail to fully capture its exact mechanism and influencing factors; are not directly retraceable to an adsorbate property and are cumbersome. In this thesis, a theoretical approach was taken to improve them. An IETS simulation protocol has been developed, parameterized and benchmarked, and consequently used to calculate IETS spectra for a set of systematically related small molecules on copper surfaces. Extending IETS principles were deduced that refer to the tunneling state's vacuum extension, the selective activating/quenching of certain types of modes due to the moieties' electronic properties, and the applicability of a sum rule of IETS signals. Also, fingerprinting IETS-signals that enable discrimination between adsorbate orientations, the chemical nature of atoms and structural isomers were determined and a strategy using straightforward electronic density distribution properties of the isolated molecule to predict IETS activity without (large) computational cost was developed. This expertise was used to rationalize and interpret experimentally measured IETS spectra for adsorbed metalloporphyrins and metallophthalocyanines, being the first IETS studies of this large size. This experimental approach permitted to determine the current limitations of IETS-simulations. The associated identification shortcomings were resolved by conducting complementary STM-image simulations.