Comparison of escape depths between Auger electron and disappearance potential spectroscopy electron

The escape depths of the characteristic electrons of the Auger electron and the quasielastically reflected electron were determined by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and disappearance potential spectroscopy (DAPS), respectively, for a Cr overlayer onto Ti and Fe substrates. For the case of Cr on Fe, in-situ measurements of AES and DAPS were carried out. From the results, the mean free paths of 455, 575 and 710 eV electrons through Cr were obtained as 9.6, 13 and 15 Å, respectively. The attenuation length of a 2.5 keV primary electron of AES through Cr was also obtained and the value was 62 Å. In addition, the mean free paths of electrons with the same energy depend on the scattering materials of Cr, Mo and W (material dependence). The phenomena are useful for a quantitative electron spectroscopy of surfaces.     

Diffraction effects in low-energy electron emission

The origin of diffraction peaks in the energy distribution of intensity of low-energy (< 1000 eV) electron emission from crystals is discussed from the standpoint of the dynamical theory of diffraction. The emitted electrons are considered to originate at relatively incoherent point sources in the crystal. The two-beam approximation of dynamical theory is used. The theory accounts for the chief regularities of diffraction peaks: temperature-dependence of peak intensities like that for low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) peaks, correlation of peak energies with X-ray absorption fine structure, and correlation of peak energies with the energies of normal-incidence LEED peaks in specular reflection. It is shown that the conditions for diffraction peaks coincide with the conditions for emergence of Kikuchi lines. It is predicted that for energies just above those of diffraction peaks, such emergences should be observable in the angular distribution of emission as intensity minima for emission along low-index crystal axes. Theory of Kikuchi band profiles is developed in an Appendix.     

Infrared emission from surfaces under low-energy electron impact

The infrared photon emission from metal surfaces stimulated by the impact of low-energy electrons of kinetic energies between 0–10 eV has been measured. The results are presented as isochromat spectra from clean Ag and Na surfaces under different temperatures. Some IR emission features have been associated tentatively with inverse photoemission processes.     

Electron escape depths in germanium

The electron escape depth was determined for crystalline germanium in the energy range from 30 to 1250 eV by means of Auger electron spectroscopy. The data obtained are compared with values previously published for other semiconductors.     

A reassessment of electron escape depths in silicon and thermally grown silicon dioxide thin films

The escape depths of electrons with kinetic energies of approximately 1150 and 1380 eV in Si and thermally grown SiO₂ thin films have been calculated, using three methods, from X-ray photoelectron spectra of samples which have been characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The most reliable and reproducible escape depths derived in this study are significantly less than the average of those reported in the literature. It is believed that this is due principally to inaccurate characterization of the samples previously used for escape depths measurements.     

X-Ray-induced low-energy electron emission from solids (one-dimensional theoretical model)

The effect of the solid surface on the X-ray induced low-energy electron emission is analysed, using the formalism of the general scattering theory, by means of an approach, called by us the ‘diagonalisation method’. Explicit analytical expressions and numerical results, obtained in the one-dimensional approximation, show great sensitivity of the shape of electron emission spectra near the threshold to the surface potential barrier height and to the presence of the amorphous ‘transition’ layer.     

Relationships between electron inelastic mean free paths, effective attenuation lengths, and mean escape depths

The terms inelastic mean free path (IMFP), effective attenuation length (EAL), and mean escape depth (MED) are frequently used to specify the surface sensitivity of Auger-electron spectroscopy (AES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). These terms are different conceptually because of the effects of elastic-electron scattering, and generally have different numerical values for a specified material and electron energy. In addition, values of the EAL and MED depend on the instrumental configuration. We give an historical overview of efforts to measure EALs by the overlayer method and of work to investigate elastic-scattering effects in AES and XPS. We then apply an analytical formalism developed from a solution of the kinetic Boltzmann equation within the transport approximation to demonstrate the relationships between the IMFP, EAL, and MED for selected elemental solids and for common measurement conditions. Examples are given to show the magnitude of elastic-scattering effects on MED values for angle-resolved XPS and AES. If XPS or AES data are acquired for emission angles between zero and 60°, the ratio of the MED to that found with elastic scattering neglected is approximately constant (to within 10%), and this ratio can be used to determine an average value for the EAL. This EAL value can then be used to establish the depth scale in the data analysis. Finally, we show ratios of the EAL to the IMFP for XPS from the Au 4s subshell with Mg K X-rays as a function of emission angle and depth; this ratio has a weak dependence on emission angle from zero to 40° but a more pronounced dependence for larger emission angles.     

Correlation of plasma electron temperature with neutron emission ina low-energy plasma focus

Correlation of neutron emission with plasma electron temperature in a low-energy (2.3 kJ) plasma focus is investigated. To determine the plasma temperature by continuum X-ray analysis, cobalt is selected as the filter, which discriminates the line radiation from the background impurities like carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, or the copper of which plasma focus electrodes are made. For a pressure range of high neutron emission (1-4 mbar), the neutron yield is found to correlate with the plasma temperature. The highest temperature recorded is 5 keV at 2.5 mbar, the filling pressure for the highest neutron emission in this device     

Attenuation lengths of low-energy electrons in solids

A compilation is presented of measured attenuation lengths of low-energy electrons in solids in the energy range (40 to 2000 eV) normally employed in X-ray photoelectron and Auger-electron spectroscopy. The techniques used to obtain electron attenuation lengths are summarized, and it is pointed out that the accuracy of measurement needs both to be defined adequately and to be improved for more meaningful intercomparisons of data and theory. An approximate expression is derived to predict attenuation lengths using either dielectric data (derived from optical or electron-energy-loss data) or average excitation energies estimated from electron binding energies for given materials at electron energies greater than about 500 eV. Good agreement is found between the predictions of this formula and some measured attenuation lengths (e.g. for Al, C, Mo, W) but further work is required to validate the formula and to extend it to lower electron energies.     

Direct low-energy electron beam nanolithography

We describe here an alternative approach to direct low-energy electron beam nanolithography process with no conventional deposition of any resist or self-assembled monolayer. The method is based on direct formation of ultrathin dielectric layer on electron irradiated surface, without generation of structural defects. High-quality electron-induced patterns with lateral resolutions of about 10 nm are demonstrated on SiO₂ surface.     

The determination of the photoelectron escape depths in polymers and other materials

Relative inelastic mean free paths (λ) for 1000-eV electrons have been determined for a number of polymers and other materials (relative to 967-eV electrons in graphite) using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The carbon-containing compounds were found to have values of λ in the range 3.7–7.1 nm while λ (silicon) was 3.0 nm i.e. 1.2–2.3 times and 1.0 times that for graphite.     

Attenuation lengths of low-energy electrons in free-standing carbon films

Attenuation lengths for electrons passing through a free-standing 40-Å carbon film are reported for electron energies between 6 and 1200 eV. Attenuation lengths for inelastic scattering are found to decrease from approximately 20 Å at 1200 eV to 6 Å in a broad minimum at 40 eV and then to rise to 9 Å at 6 eV. The results are in satisfactory agreement with theory between 200 and 1200 eV where appropriate calculations are available.     

Attenuation length and escape depth of excited electrons in solids

Escape probability and mean escape depth λ_e of emitted electrons are determined as a function of attenuation length λ_a of excited electrons, their initial energy E_n, and the height of the surface barrier χ. A variable energy loss parameter permits to apply the proposed model to different kinds of electron emission, including the energy loss free Auger and ESCA electrons. An analytical expression was found correlating the internal energy distribution of excited electrons and the external energy distribution of emitted electrons. By means of this excitation energies of secondary electrons and exoelectrons were determined.     

Formation of narrow low-energy high-intensity electron beams

The process of formation of high-density low-energy (5–10 keV) pulsed electron beams of small diameter (on the order of a few millimeters) in a gun of the “channel-spark” type is studied. It is shown that beams with a rate of rise of the current exceeding 10¹¹ A/s and an amplitude exceeding the Alfvén current by a factor of 1.5–2.0 can be obtained in experiments with intense preionisation of the transport channel combined with a pulsed supply of the accelerating voltage to the cathode. In the optimal pressure mode, the current density at a distance of 2–3 cm from the gun outlet is 40–25 kA/cm², which will ensure ablation of most solid targets.     

Correlation of electron self-energy with geometric structure in low-energy electron diffraction

In low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) studies of surface geometries where the energy dependence of the intensities is analyzed, the in-plane lattice parameter of the surface is usually set to a value determined by x-ray diffraction for the bulk crystal. In cases where it is not known, for instance in films that are incommensurate with the substrate, it is desirable to fit the in-plane lattice parameters in the same analysis as the perpendicular interlayer spacings. We show that this is not possible in a conventional LEED I(E) analysis because the inner potential, which is typically treated as an adjustable parameter, is correlated with the geometrical structure. Therefore, without having prior knowledge of the inner potential, it is not possible to determine the complete surface structure simply from LEED I(E) spectra, and the in-plane lattice parameter must be determined independently before the I(E) analysis is performed. This can be accomplished by establishing a more precise experimental geometry. Further, it is shown that the convention of omitting the energy dependency of the real part of the inner potential means geometrical LEED results cannot be trusted beyond a precision of approximately 0.01 ?.     

Unoccupied electron states in low-energy electron total-current and transmission spectroscopy of molybdenum disulfide

A theoretical interpretation of the fine structure in the low-energy electron total-current spectra and low-energy electron transmission spectra measured along the normal to the (0001)MoS₂ single-crystal surface is proposed. The calculations took into account the energy dependence of band level broadening and the electronic structure of the high final unoccupied states (above the vacuum level E_vac), which become occupied by electrons entering a solid. A comparison with the available experimental and theoretical data is performed. The effects of the bulk band structure are shown to play a dominant role in the formation of the spectra (the extrema in the spectra identify the energy position of critical points, such as the band edges or the points of extremal curvature of the dispersion branches). The proposed method makes it possible to separate the bulk effects in spectra from surface effects, this approach can be used to advantage in monitoring the state of a surface in the course of its treatment.