Layered crystals, characterized by a quasi-two-dimensional character of certain physical properties, play an interesting role in surface science. First of all they provide excellent inert substrates for epitaxial deposition and physisorption studies. The surfaces of layered crystals, however, are interesting in their own right because they make a relevant class of low-dimensional phenomena accessible to surface probes. Change density waves, incommensurate structures, phonon anomalies and high T c superconductivity are well known examples.
This book collects a series of review articles written by outstanding specialists on the structural assessment and spectroscopy of layered structures with surface-sensitive probes such as scanning microscopy and helium atom scattering, the theoretical analysis of their electronic and vibrational surface states, and the investigation of physisorbed overlayers.

Inhalt
STM and AFM Studies of Layered Materials: General.- 1. Introduction.- 2. STM and AFM Studies of the surface properties of graphite.- 3. STM and AFM studies of graphite intercalation compounds.- 4. STM and AFM studies of compound layered materials.- 5. Concluding comments.- STM and AFM of Layered Transition Metal Compounds.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Charge-density wave formation.- 3. Experimental techniques.- 4. STM and AFM of IT phase layer structure crystals.- 5. CDW defects.- 6. Mechanisms for STM amplitude enhancement.- 7. STM and AFM of 2H phase layer structure crystals.- 8. 4Hb phase transition metal dichalcogenides.- 9. Spectroscopy of layer structure dichalcogenides.- 10. Conclusions.- Electronic Structure and Properties of Layered Structures.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Computational approach.- 3. Free-electron interlayer states and related surface states in layered materials.- 4. Compounds with the AlB2 structure.- 5. Semiconductor interfaces and heterojunctions.- Helium Atom Scattering Studies of the Surface Phonons of Layered Materials.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Helium atom scattering experimental techniques.- 3. Graphite.- 4. 2H-TaSe2.- 5. 1 T-TaS2.- 6. GaSe.- 7. Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2O8 high temperature superconductor.- 8. Summary and Conclusions.- Rare Gases on Graphite.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Interaction potentials and low coverage adsorption.- 3. The phases of rare gases on graphite.- 4. Experimental Review.- Monolayer adsorption of Ar, Kr, Xe and CH4 on Layered Halides.- 1. Historical.- 2. Thermodynamic analysis of stepwise adsorption isotherms.- 3. Layered dihalides as substrates for adsorption.- 4. Corrugation-independent adsorption.- 5. Sitewise adsorption.- 6. Monolayer structure and corrugation: an overview.- 7. Conclusion.- Appendix: Semi-empirical estimation of the corrugation amplitude.