Laboratory of Semiconductor Surface Spectroscopy was established in 1980 by Professor Vitas A.Grazhulis. He was one of the founders of ultra high vacuum low temperature spectroscopy methods in Soviet Union. Under his leadership new effects in the field of low temperature surface science were investigated: novel surface atomic structures on cleavage planes of germanium crystals, new surface reconstructions induced by low temperature adsorption of silver and copper atoms onto clean semiconducting surfaces (Si, Ge, A3B5), new superstructural states on Nd-Ce-Cu-O, La-Sr-Cu-O, and Bi-2212 surfaces. Until his sudden death in 1998, Professor Grazhulis was the Editor-in-Chief of the journal «Physics of Low-Dimensional Structures», one of the members of the Editorial board of the Russian journal «Poverhnost’» (Surface science), the head of the Council «Surface Physics» in the Department of General Physics and Astronomy in Russian Academy of Sciences, the leader of the «Surface Atomic Structures» direction within government program «Physics of Condensed Matters». He was a representative of the Russian Federation in the International Union for Vacuum Science, Technique, and Applications (IUVSTA).

At the moment the Laboratory consists of 12 researchers, the head of the LSSS is the member of the Russian Cryptography Academy, doctor of science Sergey N. Molotkov.