Evidence for reduced periodic lattice distortion within the Sb-terminated surface layer of the kagome metal <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi>CsV</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mn>3</mml:mn></mml:msub><mml:

The discovery of the kagome metal <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><a:msub><a:mrow><a:mi>CsV</a:mi></a:mrow><a:mn>3</a:mn></a:msub><a:msub><a:mrow><a:mi>Sb</a:mi></a:mrow><a:mn>5</a:mn></a:msub></a:math> sparked broad interest, due to the coexistence of a charge density wave (CDW) phase and possible unconventional superconductivity in the material. In this Letter, we use low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) with a <b:math xmlns:b="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><b:mi>µ</b:mi><b:mi mathvariant="normal">m</b:mi></b:math>-sized electron beam to explore the periodic lattice distortion at the antimony-terminated surface in the CDW phase. We recorded high-quality backscattering diffraction patterns in ultrahigh vacuum from multiple cleaved samples. Unexpectedly, we did not find superstructure reflexes at intensity levels predicted from dynamical LEED calculations for the reported <d:math xmlns:d="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><d:mrow><d:mn>2</d:mn><d:mo>×</d:mo><d:mn>2</d:mn><d:mo>×</d:mo><d:mn>2</d:mn></d:mrow></d:math> bulk structure. Our results suggest that in <e:math xmlns:e="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><e:msub><e:mrow><e:mi>CsV</e:mi></e:mrow><e:mn>3</e:mn></e:msub><e:msub><e:mrow><e:mi>Sb</e:mi></e:mrow><e:mn>5</e:mn></e:msub></e:math> the periodic lattice distortion accompanying the CDW is less pronounced at Sb-terminated surfaces than in the bulk.