Electron energy loss spectroscopy of sodium covered Ge(111) surfaces

The ELS spectra of sodium covered Ge(111) surfaces are studied. It was found that sodium coverage upto 1 ML leads to a extinction of the ELS features of the clean Ge surface. With increasing sodium coverage a metal induced peak at 3.4 eV and a peak at 31.6 eV due to a sodium 2p-core level transitions appear. ELS spectra of a heat-treated surface covered with sodium imply a formation of a surface Na-Ge “compound” as a result of Na-Ge interdiffusion.