Surface states

Surface states are electronic states found at the surface of materials. They are formed due to the sharp transition from solid material that ends with a surface and are found only at the atom layers closest to the surface. The termination of a material with a surface leads to a change of the electronic band structure from the bulk material to the vacuum. In the weakened potential at the surface, new electronic states can be formed, so called surface states.[1]

  1. ^ Sidney G. Davison; Maria Steslicka (1992). Basic Theory of Surface States. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-851990-7.