AES and LEED study of the activation of GaAsCsO negative electron affinity surfaces

Gallium arsenide epitaxial layers have been activated to negative electron affinity by a two-stage process. This consisted of a heat clean in vacuum and activation with caesium and oxygen, followed by a second heating, to partially desorb the caesium, and re-activation with caesium and oxygen. AES measurements during the first activation indicated that the oxygen/caesium ratio increased as the photoemission increased to a maximum. This ratio was always less than the nearly constant ratio during the second activation which gave greater photoemission. After both the first and second activations desorption studies showed that, whereas the caesium Auger peak height decreased monotonically over a wide range of temperature, the oxygen peak height passed through a maximum as the temperature was increased, before decreasing rapidly to zero as the caesium desorption was completed. This temperature of desorption was slightly higher after the second activation. LEED showed that the caesium-oxygen layer was amorphous.     

Structural and electronic model of negative electron affinity on the Si/Cs/O surface

Structural and electronic models are proposed which correlate Goldstein's LEED, Auger, photo-emission, plasmon, and desorption data for negative electron affinity (NEA) on Si(100) surfaces. In the structural model, the surface Si atoms group into adjacent rows of surface “pedestals” and surface “caves”. Their density is 3.4 × 10¹⁴ cm^?2 each, as inferred from the LEED 2 × 2 reconstruction pattern and other data. Adsorbed Cs resides in fourfold coordination with Si atop the pedestals. Adsorbed oxygen is completely submerged in the caves of aperture 2.98Å to give a Cs-O dipole length of 2.9Å. Similar structural arguments show why Cs must be adsorbed before O₂, and why Si(111) does not exhibit NEA. In the electronic model, the surface dielectric constant, 5.3. obtained from the surface plasmon energy, 7 eV, is used to compute the dipole length from the final work function, 0.9 eV. It is 2.8Å in excellent agreement with the dipole length computed from the above structural model. Some properties of the “induced” surface states in the presence of Cs and O are also described.     

LEED-Auger characterization of GaAs during activation to negative electron affinity by the adsorption of Cs and O

A combination of low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) has been used to study the formation of the negative electron affinity (NEA) condition on surfaces of p-type, degenerate, (100) and (111) GaAs. Activation to NEA is achieved by adsorbing Cs and O onto atomically clean GaAs in repetitive cycles of first Cs and then O. Before activation, the clean GaAs surfaces exhibit their characteristic LEED patterns. However, once obtained, there is no significant correlation between the quality of these LEED patterns and the final activation. The adsorption of both Cs and O during activation to NEA is amorphous. Auger measurements have shown that the first photoemission maximum occurs after the adsorption of about a half monolayer of Cs. The initial O adsorption occurs on the GaAs surface between the Cs atoms. The adsorbed O interacts strongly with Cs at any stage during the activation. Peak photosensitivities, after completion of the Cs and O adsorptions, were in the range 400 to 1100 $\text{μA}\text{lumen}$. The final activation does not correlate with the quantity of Cs and O on the surface. The temperature dependence of the photosensitivity of NEA GaAs (100) activated at ?170°C has a broad maximum at about ?50°C and a subsidiary maximum at about 160°C. In addition, the photoemission at ?170°C can be either increased or decreased by having heated the sample up to 200°C, even though no Cs or O desorption has taken place. These results can be traced to changes in work function rather than to changes in bulk properties. While the LEED patterns from clean GaAs show no structural changes with temperature, such changes are observed when Cs is on the surface. It is suggested that changes both in photoemission and in LEED patterns are due to the temperature-induced mobility of Cs on GaAs. An atomic model for the NEA surface is discussed in terms of a layer of Cs and O atoms about 10 Å thick on the GaAs.     

Mechanisms for oxygen adsorption on the Si(110) surface studied by Auger electron spectroscopy

Oxygen adsorption on the Si(110) surface has been studied by Auger electron spectroscopy. For a clean annealed surface chemisorption occurs, with an initial sticking probability of ～6 × 10^?3. In this case the oxygen o_kll signal saturates and no formation of SiO₂ can be detected from an analysis of the Si L_2,3VV lineshape. With electron impact on the surface during oxygen exposure much larger quantities are adsorbed with the formation of an SiO₂ surface layer. This increased reactivity towards oxygen is due to either a direct effect of the electron beam or to a combined action of the beam with residual CO during oxygen inlet, which creates reactive carbon centers on the surface. Thus in the presence of an electron beam on the surface separate exosures to CO showed adsorption of C and O. For this surface subsequent exposure in the absence of the electron beam resulted in additional oxygen adsorption and formation of SiO₂. No adsorption of CO could be detected without electron impact. The changes in surface chemistry with adsorption are detectable from the Si L_2,3VV Auger spectrum. Assignments can be made of two main features in the spectra, relating to surface and bulk contributions to the density of states in the valence band.     

Effect of surface plasmon oscillations on Auger electron emission

The integrated areas of the Al L₂₃VV and O KL₂₃L₂₃ Auger peaks and the Al surface plasmon energy ?ω_S are reported for the Al(001) surface as a function of exposure to O in the exposure range 0–114 L(1 L=1langmuir=10^?6Torr sec). It is shown that for exposures below a critical value of 15 L, ?ω_S is constant within experimental error while the O Auger peak area increases linearly. For exposures above 15 L, ?ω_S decreases linearly from 10.5 eV to 8.5 eV and the O Auger peak area undergoes relatively slow linear increases correspondingly. The Al Auger peak area decreases by 30% per 1 eV decrease of ?ω_S. The results are discussed with reference to theory relating Auger transition intensities to the spectral density function.     

LEED and Auger electron observations of the SiC(0001) surface

LEED and AES experiments of the SiC{0001} crystal surfaces show that on heat-treatment these surfaces are easily “covered” with a layer of graphite by evaporation of silicon. The graphite layer, which has a distinct crystallographic relation to the SiC crystal, is monocrystalline on the Si-face and mostly polycrystalline on the C-face. A speculation about the mechanism of the initial graphitization of the basal faces of SiC is given.     

LEED studies of adsorption on vicinal copper surfaces

As a means for studying the role of atomic steps in adsorption phenomena LEED has been used to investigate the properties of vicinal copper surfaces. Single crystalline surfaces were cut at angles up to 20° from the (100) pole along [001] and [011̄] zones. The diffraction patterns obtained for the clean surfaces and after adsorption of oxygen, nitrogen ions, carbon and sulphur are described. The emphasis of the paper is on the method of interpretation of the geometry of the patterns, which may be done by straightforward kinematic analyses. In the case of nitrogen it is found that if the steps are widely separated the structure of the layer adsorbed on the terrace is the same as that on the low index surface. When the step spacing is small, and comparable with the crystalline parameter of the adsorbed layer, modifications occur which give rise to different superlattices which extend over several terraces. Adsorption of sulphur on 〈11〉 steps can produce a change in the periodicity of the adsorbed layer parallel to the step direction. The study of diffraction patterns for vicinal surfaces with different step spacings may provide an interesting technique for verifying the interpretation of patterns for low index surfaces.     

A study of Al/Si(111)-cleaved interface by photoemission,Auger electron yield,and Auger electron spectroscopies

Photoemission, Auger electron yield, and Auger electron spectra are observed for Al/Si(111)-cleaved interfaces. The Al 3p derived state which becomes metallic at monolayer coverage is introduced near the top of the valence band. The Fermi level is stabilized in this metallic state. The present result favors the on-top geometry of Al atoms on a Si(111)-cleaved surface.     

The adsorption of CO on the (110) plane of tungsten; LEED,XPS, and Auger measurements

Adsorption of CO on W(110) at 100 K produces a number of ordered LEED patterns as coverage increases, culminating in a p(5 × 1) pattern for a full virgin CO layer. The beta-1 layer obtained by heating a virgin layer to 400 K has a p(2 × 1) structure. Absolute coverages, obtained by comparison of XPS intensities (and Auger intensities where feasible) with those of oxygen on tungsten at O/W = 0.5 indicate that CO/W ? 0.8 for the full virgin layer and ? 0.3 for beta-1. These results, together with the LEED data, indicate that low temperature adsorption of virgin CO is not very site specific, and that beta-1 must be dissociated with C and O lying along alternate closepacked rows of W. XPS results for the oxygen 1s peak show that the latter shifts in beta and beta-1 from its position in virgin CO to an energy equal to that seen for pure oxygen on tungsten. A number of electron impact desorption results are also presented, and the nature of the various binding states of CO on this plane is discussed.     

Superlattices formed by electrodeposition of silver on iodine-pretreated Pt(111); studies by LEED,Auger spectroscopy and electrochemistry

Reported are studies by LEED and Auger spectroscopy of silver layers electrodeposited on well-characterized Pt(111) surfaces from aqueous solution. Prior to electrodeposition. the Pt(111) surface was treated with I₂ vapor to form the Pt(111) ($\text{7}\text{×}\text{7}$)R19.1°-I superlattice which protected the Pt and Ag surfaces from attack by the electrolyte and residual gases. Electrodeposition of silver occurred in four distinct ranges of electrode potential. Ordered layers having (3 × 3) and (18 × 18) (coincidence lattice) LEED patterns were formed at all coverages from the onset of deposition to the highest coverages studied, about twenty equivalent atomic layers. Formation of ordered Ag layers has therefore been demonstrated, at least for deposits of limited thickness. Auger spectra revealed that for deposits of a few atomic layers. The iodine layer remained attached to the surface during multiple cycles of electrodeposition and dissolution of silver from iodine-free solution. Each peak of the voltammetric current-potential scan produced a change in the LEED pattern.     

Auger electron spectroscopy and leed studies of adsorption isotherms: Xenon on (0001) graphite

The passivation mechanism and related natures of silicon surfaces with a very thin natural oxide film baked at low temperature and low pressure (≤ 600°C, 1–5 × 10^?6Torr) was studied principally by the measurement of ESR absorption. Two sorts of resonance lines, which are called the broad and the narrow line hereafter, were observed in the dark by vacuum baking after introducing air. Paramagnetic centers responsible for the broad line have a one-to-one correspondence to such surface states at the silicon-silicon oxide interface that have an electrically amphoteric nature. The narrow line with an intense g-anisotropy originated from trivalent silicons. These ESR lines interact very sensitively with atmospheric gases such as water and oxygen. In addition, light illumination induced two ESR lines different from those observed in the dark. The electron trapped at the surface state forms an intrinsic layer at the surface of n-type silicon. It has been confirmed by present ESR experiments and surface conductance measurements that the passivation effects of this surface to various atmospheric ambients such as water vapor results from the existence of an intrinsic layer at the surface of n-type silicon.     

A combined LEED/RHEED Auger study of oxygen adsorption on the W(112) surface

LEED, RHEED and Auger spectroscopy have been used to study the adsorption of oxygen on to a clean and carbon contaminated (112) face of tungsten. At room temperature all the features reported previously were observed together with a p(1 × 4) surface structure which appeared at an exposure of about 1. 4L just before the formation of the p(1 × 2). Previously a p(1 × 4) structure has been reported only after heating to 2000K. RHEED showed this p(1 × 4) structure clearly; using LEED, the structure was difficult to distinguish. This appears to confirm suspicions that in some situations involving gas adsorption, RHEED has a greater sensitivity than LEED. Possibly most of these situations involve, as does the present p(1 × 4) structure, monolayer islands where the differing coherence widths of the RHEED and LEED beams account for the differing sensitivities. Carbon on the (112) surface also appears to exist as thin islands, either of the previously reported c(6 × 4) structure, or in smaller amounts, on a surface showing (1 × 1) symmetry. Removal of all carbon by heat treatment alone was found to be impossible in a reasonable time and heating in oxygen was necessary. Oxygen adsorption on a carbon contaminated surface did not give rise to any new structures but rather a reduction in the visibility/formation of the clean surface/oxygen structures.     

Adsorption of oxygen on Rh(110): a LEED, Auger electron spectroscopy and thermal desorption study

The adsorption of oxygen on the Rh(110) surface has been studied by a variety of techniques. Low-energy electron diffraction shows the following patterns: (2 × 1)p2mg at 1 ML coverage and temperatures between 125 and 300 K; (2 × 2)p2mg at 0.5 ML coverage after heating to above 470 K; c(2 × 8) and complex streaked c(2 × 2n) patterns at coverages above 0.5 after heating to 470 K. These results are in partial agreement with previous work. Models for the first two structures are suggested. In the (2 × 2) structure, the oxygen is found to be much less reactive with CO at room temperature than in the (2 × 1) structure, suggesting that it is subsurface. A metastable (1 × 2) structure was produced from the (2 × 2) by reduction of the oxygen by CO at 450 K, and is interpreted as a surface reconstruction.     

AES and LEED studies of xenon adsorption on (100)NaCl

The thermal and electro impact behaviour of NO adsorbed on Pt(111) and Pt(110) have been studied by LEED, Auger spectroscopy, and thermal desorption. NO was found to adsorb non-dissociatively and with very similar low coverage adsorption enthalpies on the two surfaces at 300 K. In both cases, heating the adlayer resulted in partial dissociation and led to the appearance of N₂ and O₂ in the desorption spectra. The (111) surface was found to be significantly more active in inducing the thermal dissociation of NO, and on this surface the molecule was also rapidly desorbed and dissociated under electron impact. Cross sections for these processes were obtained, together with the desorption cross section for atomically bound N formed by dissociation of adsorbed NO. Electron impact effects were found to be much less important on the (110) surface. The results are considered in relation to those already obtained by Ertl et al. for NO adsorption on Ni(111) and Pd(111), and in particular, the unusual desorption kinetics of N₂ production are considered explicitly. Where appropriate, comparisons are made with the behaviour of CO on Pt(111) and Pt(110), and the adsorption kinetics of NO on the (110) surface have been examined.     

Effect of Cs on electron stimulated desorption of negative ions

The effect of submonolayers of Cs on the electron stimulated desorption of O^? from the O^? Mo(100) chemisorption system was investigated. Enhancement of the O^? yield at low Cs coverages was observed.     

Cs adsorption on a polar NbC(111) surface: photoemission and auger electron spectroscopy studies

The Cs adsorption process on a NbC(111) surface has been studied with core-level photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Coverage-dependent Cs 4d core-level PES shows that the polarization-depolarization transition of the Cs overlayer occurs in the coverage region of 0.5 ≤ θ ≤ 0.8 ML where the work function shows a minimum value. The charge transfer in the initial stage of adsorption is investigated using valence-related AES, and it is found that the transfer of the Cs 6s charge to the substrate occurs in the polarized phase.