Local-Field Effect on the Surface Conductivity of Adsorbed Overlayers

Abstract

We show, using a simple local-field-effect theory, that the ratio of the surface conductivity of an overlayer physisorbed on a crystalline surface to its surface conductivity in the absence of the local-field effect is proportional to the square of the local field produced by the substrate, and is therefore very sensitive to the position of the adsorbate. The application of this result to the optical determination of adsorption sites is analyzed.