“Fast Atom Diffraction” IBA in the regime of quantum scattering

Recently, quantum effects were observed for the scattering of fast atoms from surfaces under a grazing angle of incidence. We discuss basic features of Fast Atom Diffraction (FAD) which adds a further powerful method to the established tools in ion beam analysis. Attractive features of FAD in studies on the structure of surfaces comprise negligible radiation damage, no charging effects, and an extreme sensitivity to the topmost layer of surface atoms. Scanning the quantum wavelength associated with the motion of a massive particle by the variation of its kinetic energy allows one to apply interferometric concepts to surface analysis based on the scattering of fast atoms.