Some comments on the electronic properties of the surface space charge layer of copper phthalocyanine thin films

A simple analysis, using a theory of the surface space charge layer of semiconductors, of the published values of the work function φ and surface ionization energy Φ_s of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) thin films was performed. Using a well known position of the Fermi level E_F within the band gap E_g the values of its absolute band bending eV_s and surface electron affinity X_s were determined. A small negative value of the absolute band bending eV_s = −0.17 ∓ 0.15 eV has been interpreted by the existence of the filled electronic surface states localized in the band gap below the Fermi level E_F. Such states were predicted theoretically for thin films and the crystalline surface of CuPc, and attributed to surface lattice defects of a high concentration.     

Tuning the dispersion of 4f bands in the heavy-fermion material YbRh2Si2

Localized Yb 4f and itinerant Rh 4d states are subject to substantial hybridization effects in the heavy-fermion material YbRh₂Si₂. The proximity to the Fermi level and the high anisotropy in k space naturally raise questions regarding the role of these hybridization effects for the observed, unusual physical properties. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) we found that the non-dispersive behavior of the localized Yb f states is broken around the Γ point due to interaction with approaching Rh 4d bands. The intriguing point here is that the hybridization strength turns out to be systematically tunable by electron doping of the material. Gradual deposition of silver atoms onto the atomically clean, silicon terminated surface of YbRh₂Si₂ leads to transfer of Ag 5s charge into the Rh 4d bands. This substantially changes the energy overlap, and thus the hybridization strength, between the interacting Yb 4f and Rh 4d bands in the surface and subsurface region. The shown possibility to control the variation of the f-d hybridization at the surface of heavy-fermion materials may also be helpful for other ARPES studies on the diverse phenomena in electron-correlated materials.     

Surface densities of states in the tight-binding approximation

We present a summary of the main results obtained by a new method of calculating the electronic structure of solids and their surfaces in the tight-binding approximation. In addition to being able to reproduce the results of Kalkstein and Soven, we obtain the local density of states at atoms in the low index surfaces of fcc, hcp and bcc d-bands. We also include examples of the effect of surface dilation, the density of states at atoms in subsurface layers, and a very simple example of the adatom density of states.     

Electron states on the (111) surface of copper

A calculation of electronic states at the (111)-surface of Cu in the energy region around E_F is presented. The calculation is based on the empirical pseudopotential method. A proper position of an abrupt potential barrier ensures overall charge neutrality. A surface state is found at 0.13 eV below E_F, being localized midway between atomic layers. The effective mass of the associate bands is 0.39m_e. Our results are in good agreement with directional photoemission data.     

A molecular beam study on the interaction of NO with a Pt(111) surface

NO adsorbs on Pt(111) with a (temperature independent) initial sticking coefficient S₀=0.88. The fraction of molecules not being chemisorbed is directly inelastically scattered back due to failure of translational energy accommodation. The nonlinear variation of s with coverage can well be described by a precursor-state model, the precursor state being formed by NO molecules translationally and rotationally accommodated in a physisorbed second layer. Dissociation is essentially restricted to defect sites and is negligible on perfect (111) planes. These defect sites (present in small concentration) are first populated and are also sampled by the modulated beam technique yielding an activation energy for desorption E_d = 33.1 kcal/mole and preexponential factor v_d = 10^15.5s^?1. Isothermal desorption measurements yielded E_d and v_d as a function of coverage: E_d rapidly drops from its initial value (at defect sites) to about 27 kcal/mole — which value is considered as representing the adsorption energy on a perfect (111) plane — and then decreases continuously due to effective repulsive interactions. Simultaneously v_d is decreasing to about 10¹² s^?1 at θ = 0.25 which marks the equilibrium coverage to be reached at 300 K. If the surface is precovered with oxygen atoms the NO sticking coefficient is reduced to 0.6, and the desorption parameters are lowered to E_d = 17.1 kcal/mole and v_d= 10^12.6s^?1 (at zero NO coverage).     

Surface states ond-band metals

Electron surface states ond-band metals are investigated by the method of matching the crystal wave function to the outside solution at the surface. On a (100) surface of anfcc structure such a state is found near to the crossover of thes-band and thed-band of the same symmetry. In Ni this state lies 4–5 eV below the Fermi energy, for Cu 5–6 V beloweE _F. It explains the density of states anomaly seen in photoemission.     

Electronic surface resonances and crystal surface structure

A new method of determination of the lateral structure of crystal surfaces is presented. The method is based on earlier work showing the existence of resonances in the elastic scattering of low-energy electrons at crystal surfaces. The method consists of: (a) Measurement of the surface resonance band structure Ek_∥E, k_∥ respectively denote the electron energy and surface-parallel momentum for which resonances occur) and (b) Interpretation of E(k_∥) to determine the lateral variation of the effective potential acting on electrons at the surface.The surface resonance band structure is measured by a net-current electron reflection method. The measurement method is basically the same as used previously but here its precision is greatly enhanced by the use of digital methods of data handling including a digital filter to remove background due to inelastic and non-resonance elastic scattering. The surface resonance band structure is interpreted by a two-dimensional nearly-free electron scheme. In this scheme the interaction elements are Fourier coefficients of an effective potential which is an average of a pseudopotential with respect to the depth distribution of electron density in a surface resonance — the surface-weighted pseudopotential. Experimental surface resonance band structure for Ni(001), Ni(001) p(2 × 2)O and two different Ni(001) c(2 × 2)O surfaces (one of them with an oxygen-saturated Ni substrate) are presented for E = 1–30 eV and k_∥ running halfway from $\text{}\text{?}$gG towards H? in the surface Brillouin zone for Ni(001). The experimental results are fitted, using the nearly-free electron scheme, to determine the Fourier coefficients of the surface-weighted pseudopotential. Surface potential variations synthesized from the above data are discussed in comparison with the atomic arrangements known from LEED. It is demonstrated that the new method can give a correct picture of the lateral structure of surfaces. It is emphasized that these results are obtained without costly equipment or computations called for by other methods.     

Surface photoemission in the 4d band from polycrystalline silver surfaces

Surface induced local d-band states in the upper 4d band between ～ 4 and ～ 5.2 eV below E_Fermi have been identified for polycrystalline silver films in photoemission experiments using synchroton radiation. A thin over-coat (10 å) by an Al film leads to a depression of these surface induced local states whereas a change from s- to p-polarized excitation leads to an enhancement. Deposition of additional silver (～ 3 Å) at 120 K induces additional emission 4.2 eV below E_F with a FWHM of only ～ 0.4 eV.     

Investigation of slow surface states on a real germanium surface by the optical excitation technique

The slow states (SS) charging ΔQ_s under the action of light quanta of different energy (2 ? hv ? 4.6 eV) has been investigated on a real germanium surface. The considerable influence on the optical SS charging of the preparation method as well as of adsorption-desorption processes has been revealed. On the basis of the spectral dependencies ΔQ_s(hv) the conclusion has been made about the existence of the adsorption-sensitive system of “fluctuation” electron states near the edges of energy bands of the oxide layer. The photocharging method has been shown the construction of the whole energy scheme of the semiconductor-dielectric heterojunction (including the band gap of the dielectric layer). The possible origin of the deep traps in oxide layer which are responsible for the optical charging of a real germanium surface, has been discussed.     

Improved infrared and visible emission spectra of the H3 and D3 molecules

Better-resolved Rydberg-Rydberg emission spectra of the neutral H₃ and D₃ molecules in the infrared and visible regions, with less interference from H₂ and D₂ emission, have been obtained by using a Droege-Engelking type of corona discharge source. Using nl_λ notation, the lower electronic states are 3p₁ in the infrared and 2p₀ in the visible, and the upper electronic states are mixed (3s,3p₀,3d₀,3d₁,3d₂) states. In particular, a line near 16 842 cm⁻¹ in H₃, previously obscured by an H₂ line, reveals a (3s,3d) interaction that is confirmed by other lines. The spectra are analysed including this interaction. However, fits to effective Hamiltonians still have relatively large standard deviations, probably partly due to poor convergence of the rotational expansions and partly due to many small perturbations of the levels by background states.     

Surface photovoltage spectroscopy and surface piezoelectric effect in GaAs

“Real” (111) surfaces of n-type GaAs were investigated employing surface photovoltage spectroscopy and the surface piezoelectric effect. Surface states at the energy position E_c ? E_t ? 0.72 eV were found on both the Ga and the As surfaces. Both types of surfaces exhibited a barrier of about 0.55 V. No variations in the surface barrier or the energy position of the surface states were observed in various ambients at atmospheric pressure (dry air, wet air, ammonia and ozone). However, the capture cross-section of the surface states for electrons, as determined from the surface piezoelectric effect transients (of the order of 10^?13 cm²), was found to be sensitive to the ambient. It decreased in wet air and increased in ozone. This effect was more pronounced on the As than on the Ga surfaces. Additional surface states were found to be present in the energy region of 0.9 to 1.0 eV, below the bottom of the conduction band. However, their exact energy positions could not be determined due to interference caused by the carrier trapping of the surface states at E_c ? E_t ? 0.72 eV.     

Co-energy of surface and grain boundary in Ag film

A model is proposed for calculating the co-energy of surface and grain boundary (GB) by the modified analytical embedded atom method (MAEAM). As example, the energy densities E_d of the two adjacent grains are obtained when their (0 0 1) twist GB meets the free surface (h₁ k₁ 0)/(h₂ k₂ 0) of Ag film. The period along the boundary line on the surface is found and the energy density is calculated for the situations either with or without periodicity. The results show that, the energy value achieved via this model can be stable even for most grains with boundary line smaller than 100 nm. Among the grains with (h k 0) surface, (1 0 0) grains should be favored and grow fastest when they meet (1 1 0) grains.     

Neutrons scattering as a method for fermi surface investigations

High-T_c A15-compounds are suggested as suitable materials for which Fermi surface investigations by means of thermal neutron scattering might be possible. The structure of the differential neutron—d-electron cross section at small scattering angles is connected in a simple way with parameters defining the Fermi surface of the linear chain model. The magnitude of the cross section is estimated are compared with the phonon background.     

Selfconsistent model calculations of electronic states at narrow-band-metal surfaces

For a nondegenerate narrow energy band spanned by a semiinfinite chain of three-dimensional atoms, the electronic potential and the electron density of states are calculated selfconsistently in the vicinity of the chain end. The electron-electron interaction is treated in the Hartree-Fock approximation, using the Green function method. The results for the potential and the density of states are discussed in terms of the parameters which determine the bulk electronic structure, such as the Fermi energy E_F and the intra- and interatomic Coulomb repulsion k₀ and K₁. Futhermore, the self consistent method is extended to an impurity atom at the chain end. The existence of bonding and antibonding surface states is found to depend on both the bulk and impurity parameters, such as the intraatomic Coulomb repulsion U_α and the nearest neighbour hopping element T.     

Role of critical fluctuations in the formation of a skyrmion lattice in MnSi

The region in the H–T phase diagram near the critical temperature (T _c ) of the cubic helicoidal MnSi magnet is comprehensively studied by small-angle neutron diffraction. Magnetic field H is applied along the [111] axis. The experimental geometry is chosen to simultaneously observe the following three different magnetic states of the system: (a) critical fluctuations of a spin spiral with randomly orientated wavevector k _f , (b) conical structure with k _c ∥ H, and (c) hexagonal skyrmion lattice with k_sk ⊥ H. Both states (conical structure, and skyrmion lattice) are shown to exist above critical temperature T _c = 29 K against the background of the critical fluctuations of a spin spiral. The conical lattice is present up to the temperatures where fluctuation correlation length ξ becomes comparable with pitch of spiral d _s . The skyrmion lattice is localized near T _c and is related to the fluctuations of a spiral with correlation length ξ ≈ 2d _s , and the propagation vector is normal to the field (k_sk ⊥ H). These spiral fluctuations are assumed to be the defects that stabilize the skyrmion lattice and promote its formation.     

The angular dependence of flux,mean energy and speed ratio for D2 molecules desorbing from a Ni(111) surface

Experimental data are presented for the angular dependence of the relative flux, the mean energy and the speed ratio of deuterium molecules desorbing from a Ni(111) crystal surface at a surface temperature of T_s = 1143 K and at sulphur coverages ranging between 30% and less than 2% of a monolayer.The angular flux distribution is sharply peaked in the forward direction (cos^dθwith 3 ? d ? 5) and the mean energy 〈E〉 of the desorbate depends strongly on the desorption angle θ. For normal desorption $\text{(θ = 0°)}\text{〈E〉}\text{2k}$ is about 700 K higher than T_s and for glancing angles (θ = 80°) it decreases to about 400 K below T_s The results obtained on sulphur free and sulphur covered Ni(111) surfaces are compared with our former data on polycrystalline nickel. The main differences in the kinetic features can be ascribed to the surface roughness. Accordingly, the angular distributions of flux, mean energy, and speed ratio, which deviate strongly from the Knudson and Maxwellian law, do not seem to depend considerably on sulphur coverage and surface structure. A qualitative explanation for these deviations is presented using the principle of detailed balancing.     

Angular momentum decomposition of k = 0 Bloch functions in group IV and zincblende crystals

The angular momentum contents of $\text{k}\text{= 0}$ Bloch functions for a number of group IV and zincblende crystals are examined using a pseudopotential approach. The large amplitudes for d and f character functions found even for valence electron wave functions are related to the overlap of p and s symmetry states on different atoms. In zincblende crystals the strength of the d and f components increases around cations and decreases around anions for the valence bands. The f-like component is appreciable for the Γ₁ conduction band particularly around a cation.     

Optical properties of BiTeI semiconductor with a strong Rashba spin-orbit interaction

We have modeled the 4f ¹-5d ¹ absorption spectrum of a LiYF₄:Ce³⁺ crystal at zero temperature using a microscopic model of the electron-phonon interaction and the real spectrum of LiYF₄ lattice vibrations. Effects caused by mixing of the wave functions of different states of the 5d ¹ excited configuration of the Ce³⁺ ion, which is induced by the electron-phonon interaction, are considered based on the calculations of the second-, third-, and fourth-order exact moments of curvature of the spectrum envelope. We have shown that the large value of the splitting between the maxima of the bands in the absorption spectrum that correspond to transitions to the third and fourth 5d ¹ levels is a result of the nonadiabatic interaction of 5d electrons with lattice vibrations.     

Elastic,piezoelectric and dielectric properties of ZnO and CdS single crystals in a wide range of temperatures

A complete set of elastic, piezoelectric and dielectric constants of ZnO and CdS at room temperature was determined by the method of resonance-antiresonance. Elastic constants s^E₁₁, s^E₁₂, s^E₅₅, c^D₃₃, c^D₅₅, coefficients of electromechanical couplingk₃₁, k₁₅, k_t and dielectric constants ε^T₁₁, ε^T₃₃ of ZnO single crystals were determined in the temperature range 4.2–800 K. Elastic constants s^E₁₁, s^E₁₂, s^D₃₃, s^E₅₅, s^D₃₃, s^D₅₅, coefficients of electromechanical coupling k₃₁, k₃₃, k₁₅, k_t and dielectric constants ε^T₁₁, ε^T₃₃ of CdS single crystals were determined in the temperature range 4.2–300 K.     

Adsorbate band dispersions for C on Ru(0001)

We have studied carbon-induced two-dimensional energy bands on Ru(0001) using angleresolved photoelectron spectroscopy and have compared them with ab initio calculations. We find a nearly parabolic band (bottom at E_F ?9.8 eV at k_∥ = 0, effective mass ～ 1.5 m_e) which we assign to the C 2p_z valence states of a graphitic carbon overlayer. Compared to graphite, these states are bound more tightly by 2.3 eV.