Studies of iron and iron oxide layers by electron spectroscopes

Thin iron oxide layers prepared “in situ” in the ultra high vacuum on polycrystalline iron substrate were investigated by electron spectroscopy methods—X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and elastic peak electron spectroscopy (EPES), using spectrometer ADES-400. The texture and the average grain size of the iron substrate foil have been examined by glancing angle X-ray diffraction (XRD). Qualitative and quantitative estimation of investigated oxide layers was made using (i) the relative sensitivity factor XPS method, (ii) comparison of binding energy shifts of Fe 2p photoelectron line and (iii) non-linear fitting procedure of Fe 2p photoelectron lines.Both, sputter-clean polycrystalline iron substrate and finally grown Fe_2.2O₃ layer, were investigated by the EPES method to measure the electron transport parameters used for quantitative electron spectroscopy, such as the electron inelastic mean free path (IMFP) values. The IMFPs were measured in the electron kinetic energy range 200-1000 eV with the Cu standard. The surface excitation parameters using Chen and Werner et al. approaches were evaluated and applied for correcting these IMFPs. The discrepancies between the evaluated parameters obtained using the above quantitative and qualitative approaches for characterising the iron oxide layers were discussed.     

Mass-filtered cobalt clusters in contact with epitaxially ordered metal surfaces

Mass-filtered cobalt clusters with a size between 5 nm and 12 nm have been deposited in situ under soft-landing conditions onto epitaxially ordered iron and nickel films. The spin and orbital moments of both the clusters as well as the substrate films have been investigated using the element-specific method of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism in photoabsorption. Here, the ferromagnetic films with in-plane magnetic anisotropies have been used to magnetize the clusters remanently without applying external magnetic fields during the measurements. Experimental results from the cobalt clusters are discussed with respect to the different substrates. Furthermore, the influence of oxygen exposure on the spin and orbital moments of cobalt clusters has been investigated in in situ oxidation experiments. PACS 73.22.-f; 75.70.-i; 75.75.+a; 81.07.-b     

The bonding state of carbon segregated to α-iron surfaces and on iron carbide surfaces studied by electron spectroscopy

Segregated carbon on the Fe(100) surface has been studied by means of X-rayand ultraviolet photoelectron (XPS, UPS), Auger electron (AES) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (ELS). For comparison, the surfaces of polycrystalline graphite and of iron carbides stabilized by chromium or manganese additions have been investigated. On the iron surface, carbon exists as a chemisorbed state or graphitic multilayer. The two states exhibit different energy positions in XPS, and are different in energy positions and lineshapes in AES and ELS. During the transition of graphitic carbon to chemisorbed carbon on Fe(100) a novel coverage-dependent Auger feature is reported. The spectra of graphitic carbon on the iron surface always coincide with those of solid graphite. The carbon Auger transitions of chemisorbed carbon and of iron carbides exhibit very similar lineshapes, but the energy positions of both states differ in AES as well as XPS.     

Spin configurations in the absence of an external magnetic field in a magnetic bilayer with in-plane cubic or uniaxial anisotropies

The spin configurations in the absence of an external magnetic field have been systematically investigated for a magnetic bilayer system consisting of two ferromagnetic layers separated by a non-magnetic layer with interlayer exchange coupling. Based on a phenomenological model, the conditions for the existence of collinear and non-collinear spin structures were derived for three kinds of magnetic bilayers with different combinations of in-plane cubic and uniaxial anisotropies for the two ferromagnetic layers. The phase diagrams of the spin configurations at zero field were drawn, taking into account the lowest-order anisotropy parameters of both the ferromagnetic layers. The values of the canting angle have been derived analytically and then numerically plotted.     

Study of the spin polarization of unoccupied states near the Fermi level by spin-dependent near-edge absorption spectroscopy

Spin-dependent near-edge absorption spectroscopy is presented as a new method for studying the spin density of states near the Fermi level at the absorbing atom site. Using circularly polarized synchrotron radiation the spin-dependent inner-shell absorption coefficient is measured as a function of the photoelectron energy. The spin-dependent absorption profile is expected to reflect directly the spin-density distribution of the states populated in the absorption process. The spin densities of 3d-and 4f-elements in pure systems, ferromagnetic alloy and compounds, and 5d-impurities in Fe have been investigated. The results are compared with spin-resolved band-structure calculations for the ferromagnetic ground state.     

Angle- and energy-dependent core-level photoelectron energy loss studies in Al and In

Electron energy loss structures of Al and In core-level photoemission spectra, in particular surface and bulk plasmon losses, have been investigated as functions of photon energy (i.e., photoelectron kinetic energy). These studies utilized synchrotron radiation to provide a variable photon source in the ultra-soft X-ray region, thus allowing these loss processes to be studied at photoelectron kinetic energies for which the mean free path of the electrons is minimal. The Al plasmon loss structure was also studied with soft X-ray radiation in an angle-resolved mode, allowing the variation of effective photoelectron sampling depth with different electron take-off (collection) angles. These results for the relative intensity of the bulk and surface plasmons as a function of electron kinetic energy and electron exit angle are in qualitative agreement with the predictions of ?unji? and ?ok?evi?. The core-level binding energies of surface atoms have also been studied with the result that no significant shift has been observed with respect to bulk-atom core levels.     

The photoelectron spectra of some iron tricarbonyl complexes of 4π-electron donor ligands

The photoelectron spectra of eighteen compounds which are dienes or diene—iron tricarbonyl complexes have been investigated. A comparison of the photoelectron spectra of the dienes and corresponding iron carbonyl complexes has yielded the values of the perturbation energies for the two π orbitals of the diene moiety caused by interaction with Fe(CO)₃. These perturbation energies are relatively constant (Δπ₁ = 0.89 ± 0.07 eV, Δπ₂ = 0.22 ± 0.06 eV) throughout the series. They have been employed to estimate the π ionization energies of the organic transient species cyclobutadiene (8.29 and 11.95 eV) and trimethylenemethane (8.36 and 11.79 eV), two novel molecules which have not been studied successfully by photoelectron spectroscopy to date.     

Nonreciprocity engineering in magnetostatic spin waves

Magnetostatic surface spin waves (MSSW) excited from a coplanar waveguide antenna travel in different directions with different amplitudes. This effect, called nonreciprocity of MSSW, has been investigated by micromagnetic simulations. The ratio of amplitude of two counter propagating spin waves, the nonreciprocity parameter κ, is obtained for different ferromagnetic materials, such as NiFe (Py), CoFeAl, yttrium iron garnet (YIG), and GaMnAs. A device schematic has been proposed in which κ can be tuned to a large value by varying simple geometrical parameters of the device.     

X-ray photoelectron spectra and structure of iron polynuclear complexes

Iron trimethylacetate complexes with different ligands have been investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Fe 2p, Fe 3p, C 1s, O 1s, and N 1s spectra obtained at successive replacement of the Fe-O coordination bonds with Fe-N bonds have been analyzed. A satellite component is found in the spectra of iron trimethylacetate complexes, which is indicative of the high-spin state of Fe^II and Fe^III iron atoms. The XPS data made it possible to determine the degree of covalence of the metal-ligand bonding and reveal two nonequivalent states for iron atoms.     

Oxygen on Fe(1 1 0): magnetic properties of the adsorbate system

Investigations concerning the electronic and magnetic properties of oxygen adsorbed on magnetized iron films were carried out by means of angle and spin resolving photoelectron spectroscopy. Iron(1 1 0), epitaxially grown on a W(1 1 0) crystal, served as the ferromagnetic substrate. Exchange splittings of the O 2p_x derived level were detected demonstrating a magnetic coupling between the chemisorbate and the iron layer. This observation indicates the presence of an induced magnetic moment within the adsorbate overlayer. Variations of the exchange splitting occurred as a function of the oxygen coverage, energy of the exciting radiation, and detection angle of the emitted photoelectrons pointing to a k₆-dependent exchange splitting. High oxygen exposures lead to a FeO overlayer at the surface, showing vanishing peak separations due to the antiferromagnetic behavior of iron oxide.     

光电子衍射与表面结构分析

光电子衍射是近年来发展成熟的研究外延表面和吸附表面的原子位型、结构、化学键、磁性等物理化学性质的表达分析方法。本概述了其基本原理以及在理论、实践两方面的最新进展,并且具体阐述了在不同的实验条件下光电子衍射基本的数据处理方法,并结合一些近几年发展起来的技术如光电子全息、自旋分辨的光电子衍射（SPPD）、磁二向色性角分布（MDAD）等讨论了光电子衍射在各种低维体系中的应用。     

EPR study of the mechanism of chemical dedoping of conducting polypyrrole

The mechanisms of chemical dedoping of conductive polypyrrole with the initial conductivity values differing by an order of magnitude have been studied using EPR spectroscopy. An analysis of the temperature dependences of the electrical resistance of the initial highly conductive samples and dedoped samples has revealed a transition from three-dimensional conduction in the initial samples to one-dimensional conduction in the dedoped samples. This transition is caused by the transformation of transverse bipolarons into longitudinal bipolarons and ipolarons. It has been established that transverse and longitudinal quasiparticles are stabilized by counterions involving iron ions in different spin states: the spin of iron in the counterion of a transverse bipolaron is 2 and iron is inactive in the EPR spectrum, whereas in the counterion of longitudinal quasiparticles, the spin of iron is 5/2 and iron becomes paramagnetic.     

Surface spin-polarized currents generated in topological insulators by circularly polarized synchrotron radiation and their photoelectron spectroscopy indication

A new method for generating spin-polarized currents in topological insulators has been proposed and investigated. The method is associated with the spin-dependent asymmetry of the generation of holes at the Fermi level for branches of topological surface states with the opposite spin orientation under the circularly polarized synchrotron radiation. The result of the generation of holes is the formation of compensating spin-polarized currents, the value of which is determined by the concentration of the generated holes and depends on the specific features of the electronic and spin structures of the system. The indicator of the formed spin-polarized current can be a shift of the Fermi edge in the photoelectron spectra upon photoexcitation by synchrotron radiation with the opposite circular polarization. The topological insulators with different stoichiometric compositions (Bi_1.5Sb_0.5Te_1.8Se_1.2 and PbBi₂Se₂Te₂) have been investigated. It has been found that there is a correlation in the shifts and generated spin-polarized currents with the specific features of the electronic spin structure. Investigations of the graphene/Pt(111) system have demonstrated the possibility of using this method for other systems with a spin-polarized electronic structure.     

Inverse spin Hall effect in ITO/YIG exited by spin pumping and spin Seebeck experiments

Spin currents, which are excited in indium tin oxide(ITO)/yttrium iron garnet(YIG) by the methods of spin pumping and spin Seebeck effect, are investigated through the inverse spin Hall effect(ISHE). It is demonstrated that the ISHE voltage can be generated in ITO by spin pumping under both in-plane and out-of-plane magnetization configurations.Moreover, it is observed that the enhancement of spin Hall angle and interfacial spin mixing conductance can be achieved by an appropriate annealing process. However, the ISHE voltage is hardly seen in the presence of a longitudinal temperature gradient. The absence of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect can be ascribed to the almost equal thermal conductivity of ITO and YIG and specific interface structure, or to the large negative temperature dependent spin mixing conductance.     

Aluminum thickness dependence of resistance change in spin tunneling junctions Co/Al-oxide/Co

The oxidation states of Al-oxide layer and the leakage current density in coercive differential spin tunneling junctions Co/Al-oxide/Co have been investigated in order to clear the mechanism of the increasing resistance change. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis shows that the resistance change increases with decreasing unoxidized Al, which can be qualitatively explained by using first-principle band calculation based on linear-muffin-tin-orbital atomic-sphere-approximation method. The resistance change decreases with increasing leakage current density, which originates from Schottky effect. Reduction of unoxidized Al and leakage current density originating from Schottky effect is required to obtain the large resistance change in spin tunneling junctions.     

Spin-orbit-induced photoelectron spin polarization in angle-resolved photoemission from both atomic and condensed matter targets

The existence of highly spin polarized photoelectrons emitted from non-magnetic solids as well as from unpolarized atoms and molecules has been found to be very common in many studies over the past 40 years. This so-called Fano effect is based upon the influence of the spin-orbit interaction in the photoionization or the photoemission process. In a non-angle-resolved photoemission experiment, circularly polarized radiation has to be used to create spin polarized photoelectrons, while in angle-resolved photoemission even unpolarized or linearly polarized radiation is sufficient to get a high spin polarization. In past years the Rashba effect has become very important in the angle-resolved photoemission of solid surfaces, also with an observed high photoelectron spin polarization. It is the purpose of the present topical review to cross-compare the spin polarization experimentally found in angle-resolved photoelectron emission spectroscopy of condensed matter with that of free atoms, to compare it with the Rashba effect and topological insulators to describe the influence and the importance of the spin-orbit interaction and to show and disentangle the matrix element and phase shift effects therein.The relationship between the energy dispersion of these phase shifts and the emission delay of photoelectron emission in attosecond-resolved photoemission is also discussed. Furthermore the influence of chiral structures of the photo-effect target on the spin polarization, the interferences of different spin components in coherent superpositions in photoemission and a cross-comparison of spin polarization in photoemission from non-magnetic solids with XMCD on magnetic materials are presented; these are all based upon the influence of the spin-orbit interaction in angle-resolved photoemission.     

磁光克尔效应中的光子自旋分裂

光子自旋霍尔效应类似于电子系统中的电子自旋霍尔效应, 是在折射率梯度和光子分别扮演的外场和自旋电子的角色下, 由自旋-轨道相互作用而产生的光子自旋分裂现象. 光子自旋霍尔效应为操控光子提供了新的途径, 同时也提供了一种精确测量相关物理效应的方法. 本文研究了磁光克尔效应中光子自旋分裂现象, 建立了磁光克尔旋转与光子自旋霍尔效应之间的定量关系, 并通过弱测量系统观测了磁场作用下铁膜表面的光子自旋分裂位移, 得到相应的磁光旋转角, 验证了我们所推导的理论预测. 本文的研究成果为精确测量磁光克尔系数和磁光克尔旋转角提供了一种新方法.     

Effects of Rashba spin–orbit coupling interface on the orientation-dependent conductance in ferromagnet/spin-triplet superconductor junction

We study theoretically the tunneling charge conductance in ferromagnet/spin-triplet superconductor junction with the spin–orbit coupling interface. It is shown the symmetry of the conductance about the relative angle between the magnetization in ferromagnet and the d-vector in superconductor is broken due to the presence of the interfacial Rashba spin–orbit coupling. We present the conductance for various cases of the angle. For each angle, the spin-active mechanism provided by the interface is investigated. The interface effects for different spin polarization in the ferromagnet is also considered.     

Photoelectron escape from iron oxide

Iron oxide of nanometer thickness were grown in situ by step-by-step oxidation of an iron foil to measure the escape probabilities of O 1s photoelectrons as a function of depth of origin, the so-called emission depth distribution function (EDDF), and the mean escape depth (MED). To record photoelectron spectra for a wide range of emission angles, the X-ray excitation source was positioned on the opposite side of the iron foil with respect to the analyzer. To excite photoelectrons on the side of the foil surface adjacent to the analyzer, the foil was made thin enough to be semitransparent to the X-ray radiation. The O 1s spectra were recorded for a wide range of oxide thicknesses until no features of metallic iron were recognized in the photoelectron spectra. The escape probability of the O 1s photoelectrons in the iron oxide was derived from the oxide-thickness dependence of the O 1s peak areas. The resulting EDDF reached a maximum beneath the oxide surface for X-ray incidence and electron-emission angles located along the surface normal. For the same incidence angle and an emission angle of 60°, the escape probability could be well approximated by a simple exponential function. The mean escape depths were obtained for both experimental geometries and agreed well with the available theory.