Bent crystals can be successfully applied for extraction/collimation of relativistic particles. A crucial feature to obtain high extraction efficiencies is the treatment of the surfaces being encountered by the beam, since mechanical operations induce considerable lattice imperfections. In order to remove the superficial damaged layer a planar etching can be applied on the surface exposed to the beam. This work presents a systematic study of the morphology and the crystalline perfection of the surface of the samples that have been used in accelerators with high efficiency. Crystals with different surface treatments have been investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were applied on the characterisation of surface morphology. Low energy backscattering channeling of 2-MeV α particles or protons was used as a probe for the crystalline structure. The presence of a superficial damaged layer in the samples just after mechanical treatment was unveiled, while, in contrast, chemical etching leaves a surface with high crystalline perfection that can be related to the record efficiency. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.