Electronic properties of the space charge layer of the copper phthalocyanine thin films

Photoemission Yield Spectroscopy (PYS) has been used in studies of the electronic properties of the space charge layer of UHV annealed copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) thin films. The work functionφ, ionization energyΦ, absolute band bendingeV _s and surface electron affinityX _s is determined. Moreover, two filled electronic state bands localized in the band gap are observed. Their origin is briefly discussed.     

Electronic properties of clean and oxygen exposed GaAs (100) surfaces

Both Photoemission Yield Spectroscopy (PYS) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) have been used in the study of the electronic properties of the clean GaAs(100) surface prepared by IBA procedure and subsequently exposed to oxygen. For the clean GaAs(100)c(8 × 2) surface, the values of the work function and the absolute band bending were 4.20 ± 0.02 eV and −0.23 ± 0.06 eV, respectively, which confirms the pinning of the Fermi level E_F, and two filled electronic surface state bands localized in the band gap below the Fermi level were observed. After exposition of this surface to 10³ L of oxygen, the electronic surface state band localized just below the Fermi level E_F disappeared, and the work function and the absolute band bending increased by only 0.12eV, whereas for the higher oxygen exposures of 10⁴L and 10⁵L, only small increases in the values of the work function and the absolute bending by 0.04 eV and 0.03 eV, respectively, were observed.     

Comparative photoemission study of the electronic properties of L-CVD SnO2 thin films

In this work we present the results of comparative XPS and PYS studies of electronic properties of the space charge layer of the L-CVD SnO₂ thin films after air exposure and subsequent UHV annealing at 400 °C, with a special emphasis on the interface Fermi level position.From the centre of gravity of binding energy of the main XPS Sn 3d_5/2 line the interface Fermi level position E_F − E_v in the band gap has been determined. It was in a good correlation with the value estimated from the offset of valence band region of the XPS spectrum, as well as from the photoemission yield spectroscopy (PYS) measurements. Moreover, from the valence band region of the XPS spectrum and PYS spectrum two different types of filled electronic band gap states of the L-CVD SnO₂ thin films have been derived, located at 6 and 3 eV with respect to the Fermi level.     

Thermally and optically induced effects on sub-band gap absorption in nanocrystalline CdSe (nc-CdSe) thin films

Nanocrystalline cadmium selenide (nc-CdSe) thin films have been prepared by thermal evaporation using the inert gas condensation (IGC) technique. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies show that the CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) are spherical in shape. Constant photocurrent method (CPM) is used to determine the value of absorption coefficient in low absorption region of as-deposited, annealed and light soaked nc-CdSe thin films. Values of optical band gap (E_g) have been determined by using Tauc's relation for as-deposited, annealed and light soaked nc-CdSe thin films from the α values evaluated from reflection and transmission measurements. We have used a derivative procedure to sub-gap absorption spectra in order to get information on the energetic distribution of the occupied density of states below Fermi level. Constants such as optical gap E_g, Urbach edge E_u have been obtained from CPM spectra in as-deposited, annealed and light soaked nc-CdSe thin films. Concentration of defect states has also been calculated in as-deposited, annealed and light soaked nc-CdSe thin films.     

Quantum size effects in the fermi energy and electronic density of states in a finite square well thin film model

The dependence of the Fermi energy, E_F, and the electronic density of states, ρ(E), of thin metallic films (L_z ≲ 50 Å) on film thickness, electron density, and potential well depth, is systematically investigated in a free-electron, finite square well model. Two size-dependent effects are observed: (1) oscillations in E_F and ρ(E) due to the size-quantization of the energy levels, and (2) changes in the mean values of these quantities, averaged over several oscillation periods, relative to their bulk values. The mean value of E_F is increased relative to its bulk value by as much as 5%–10% for physically reasonable well depths and typical metallic electron densities. For the special case in which the top energy level in the well is occupied, the mean value of E_F is equal to its bulk value. The mean value ofρ(E_F) can be either greater than or less than its bulk value, depending on the well depth. In contrast to the small amplitude oscillations in E_F, the oscillations in ρ(E_F) may have an amplitude as large as 25% of the mean value for sufficiently thin films. Accurate analytic expressions for the thickness dependence of the Fermi energy and density of states are derived.     

Electronic structure of the conduction band of the interface region of ultrathin films of substituted perylenedicarboximides and the germanium oxide surface

The results of the investigation of the electronic structure of the conduction band and the interfacial potential barrier during the formation of interfaces of dioctyl-substituted perylenedicarboximide (PTCDI-C₈) and diphenyl-substituted perylenedicarboximide (PTCDI-Ph) ultrathin films with the oxidized germanium surface have been presented. The experimental results have been obtained using the very low energy electron diffraction (VLEED) technique in the total current spectroscopy (TCS) mode at energies in the range from 5 to 20 eV above the Fermi level E_F. The positions of the maxima of the fine structure of total current spectra (FSTCS) of the PTCDI-C₈ and PTCDI-Ph films differ significantly in the energy range from 9 to 20 eV above the Fermi level E_F, which can be associated with the difference between the substituents of the chosen molecules, dioctyl- and diphenyl-, respectively. At the same time, the positions of the lowenergy maxima in the FSTCS spectra at an energy 6–7 eV above the Fermi level E_F for the PTCDI-C₈ and PTCDI-Ph films almost coincide with each other. It has been suggested that these maxima are attributed to the electronic states of the perylene core of the molecules under investigation. The process of the formation of interfacial potential barriers of the PTCDI-C₈ and PTCDI-Ph films with the oxidized germanium surface has been analyzed. It has been found that the work functions of the surface, E_vac–E_F, differ little from 4.6 ± 0.1 eV over the entire range of organic coating thicknesses from 0 to 6 nm.     

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.     

Influence of the boundary conditions on the fermi energy and density of states in a free-electron solid of sub-micron dimensions

Asymptotic expressions for the distribution of the eigenvalues of the Helmholtz-Schrödinger equation are used to anlyze the dependence of the Fermi energy, E_F, and the density of states, ρ(E), on sample size, shape, and electron density, in a free-electron model with Dirichlet boundary conditions. It is found that for very small samples E_F is increased relative to its asymptotic (i.e., bulk) value and ρ(E) is decreased relative to its bulk value. These effects are more pronounced for samples with low electron density and with a large surface-to-volume ratio. In general E_F and ρ(E_F) deviate significantly from their bulk values only for systems with fewer than 50,000 electrons and/or with linear dimensions of 100 Å or less. The use of smoothing functions to represent the density of states obtained from the exact eigenvalue distribution is also discussed. It is shown that an oscillating density of states leads to small cusps in the plot of E_F as a function of sample size. This is in qualitative agreement with the results of experiments on size-dependent oscillations in field emission from thin metallic films. Comparison is also made between photoemission experiments from thin films and other results obtained in this study.     

Direct photoemission spectroscopy and electronic properties of in situ grown,strained high-Tc and related oxide films

We have optimized laser ablation thin film deposition and transfer procedures within synchrotron vault, specifically to perform angle-integrated and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on high-T_c and related films without cleaving the samples. However, the chain-containing phases like YBCO-123 easily loose surface oxygen and do not exhibit stable Fermi edge, hence are not suitable for ARPES studies. Direct in situ ARPES studies on strained LSCO-214 films show striking strain effects on the electronic structure. The Fermi surface (FS) of LSCO evolves with doping, yet changes even more significantly with strain. The strain changes the FS topology from hole-like to electron-like, and causes band dispersion along k_x and the Fermi level crossing before the Brillouin zone boundary, in sharp contrast to the ‘usual’ flat band remaining ≈30 meV below E_F measured on unstrained samples. The associated reduction of the density of states does not diminish the superconductivity; T_c is enhanced in all our strained samples. Implications for the evolving high-T_c theory and studies of nano-engineered film heterostructures are briefly discussed.     

Electronic properties of TiC(100) and polar TiC(111) surfaces

The energy bands of films of TiC have been calculated using the linear-combination-of-atomic-orbitals method with parameters obtained by a fit to the bulk band structure. The Madelung potentials and charge redistribution have been determined self-consistently. For the neutral TiC(100) surface, the density of states (DOS) is similar to that of the bulk. For the non-neutral Ti-covered TiC(111) surface, Ti 3d-derived surface states appear around the Fermi energy E_F. The long-range electric field produced by the polar surfaces is screened by the charge redistribution, and the polar surfaces are stabilized. Characteristic features of TiC(111) compared to other surfaces of TiC are attributed to the high surface DOS at E_F.     

Adsorbate enhanced Ti-3d photoemission from layered TiSe2 surfaces

Angle resolved photoelectron spectra of 1T-TiSe₂ single crystals $\text{(}\text{h}\text{?}\text{ω = 21.2}\text{eV}\text{)}$ have been investigated as a function of exposure to H₂O, CO, N₂ and O₂ at room temperature. A significant enhancement of the Ti-3d emission near the Fermi energy E_F is observed for H₂O and CO exposures of several kL. As compared to the clean surface this emission extends over the entire Brillouin zone. The results indicate that by H₂O and CO adsorption the lowest d-subband is pulled below E_F possibly by local band bending. Additional relaxation effects at the surface associated with changes in d-band matrix elements may occur. The intensity of the Se-4p derived valence band emission down to 7 eV below E_F remains essentially unchanged.     

Effect of random doping on the electronic spectrum in trans-polyacetylene

Random dopants in trans (CH)_x introduce a broad band of gap states which merges with the conduction and valence band edges at a doping concentration n_c of a few percent. This overlap of band and gap states leads to an onset of Pauli susceptibility, since the density of states at the Fermi energy E_F is nonzero for n>n_c. However, E_F lies in a region of localized states until n is considerably greater than n_c and the system remains a semiconductor.     

Photoemission study of electronic structure evolution across the metal-insulator transition of heavily B-doped diamond

We studied the electronic structure evolution of heavily B-doped diamond films across the metal-insulator transition (MIT) using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS). From high-temperature UPS, through which electronic states near the Fermi level (E_F) up to ∼5k_BT can be observed (k_B is the Boltzmann constant and T the temperature), we observed the carrier concentration dependence of spectral shapes near E_F. Using another carrier concentration dependent UPS, we found that the change in energy position of sp-band of the diamond valence band, which corresponds to the shift of E_F, can be explained by the degenerate semiconductor model, indicating that the diamond valence band is responsible for the metallic states for samples with concentrations above MIT. We discuss a possible electronic structure evolution across MIT.     

Modification of the electronic properties of the TiO2 (1 1 0) surface upon deposition of the ultrathin conjugated organic layers

A few nm thick 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (PTCDA) and Cu-phthalocyanine (CuPc) overlayers were thermally deposited in situ in UHV onto TiO₂ (1 1 0) surface. Atomic composition of the surfaces under study was monitored using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The formation of the interfacial potential barrier and the structure of the unoccupied electronic states located 5-25 eV above the Fermi level (E_F) was monitored using a probing beam of low-energy electrons according to the total current electron spectroscopy (TCS) method. The work function values upon the overlayer deposition changed from 4.6 to 4.9 eV at the PTCDA/TiO₂ (1 1 0) interface and from 4.6 to 4.3 eV at the CuPc/TiO₂ (1 1 0) interface. Band bending in the TiO₂ substrate, molecular polarization in the organic film and changes in the work function due to the change in the surface composition were found to contribute to the formation of the interfacial potential barriers. Oxygen admixture related peaks were observed in the AES and in the TCS spectra of the CuPc overlayers. A mechanism of the transformations in the PTCDA and CuPc overlayers on the TiO₂ (1 1 0) upon elevating temperature from 25 to 400 °C was suggested.     

Gap states in hydrogenated amorphous silicon: A comparison of photoemission and photoconductivity results

We report photoemission results from which we directly determined the density of states g(E) in the gap of a-Si:H between the top of the valence band E_v and the Fermi level. At 0.4 eV above E_v, g(E) was found to be ≈1×10²⁰ cm^-3 eV^-1 in the undoped film; P-doping increased g(E) in this region whereas annealing reduced it. The photoconductivity-derived optical absorption spectrum matched the shape of the photoemission spectrum, and thus supports the explanation that the photoconductivity shoulder at photon energies in the region of 1.3 eV is due to transitions from localized states above the valence band to the conduction band.     

Electronic band structures of the alkali metals and of the noble metals and their α-phase alloys

In the monovalent metals the electronic band structure is strongly affected by the size of the band gap E _s-E _p at the Brillouin zone faces, a large gap implying a large distortion of the Fermi surface. Here E _s and E _p are the energies of the purely s-like and p-like states on the zone faces. We have made crude estimates of E _s-E _p for the alkali and noble metals, in terms of the s-p excitation energy Δ_sp of the free atoms. These suggest a single model which correlates most of the experimental information about the band structures of these metals. In particular the Fermi surface of lithium appears to make considerable contact with the zone faces. In the α-phase alloys of the noble metals, the solute always has a larger value of Δ_sp than the solvent, which raises the energy E _p relative to E _s. The Fermi surface becomes more nearly spherical in copper alloys than in copper, since E _p<E _s, whereas it distorts further in the gold alloys (E _p>E _s). This accounts for many Knight shift, electronic specific heat, magnetic susceptibility and other data on these alloys. Furthermore it provides the extension of Jones' explanation of the Hume-Rothery rule demanded by the non-spherical Fermi surface in pure copper and gold.     

Studies on the opto-electronic properties of III–V and II–VI group semiconductors from optical electronegativities

New empirical relations have been proposed to evaluate bond energies (E_s) in compound semiconductors, first from the knowledge of optical electronegativities of the constituent ions and secondly from the energy gap values. The validity of the two relations has been tested in the case of certain III–V and II–VI group semiconductors by comparing the calculated values of E_s, with those in the literature. From the computed values of E_s, refractive indices have been calculated. The Penn gap (E_p), Fermi energy (E_F) and S_o-parameter for these semiconductors have also been determined. The estimated values of these parameters are utilized to evaluate the electronic polarizabilities (α). The computed values of a compare excellently with the standard data.     

Electronic structure of new multiple band Pt-pnictide superconductors APt3P

We report LDA calculated band structure, densities of states and Fermi surfaces for recently discovered Pt-pnictide superconductors APt₃P (A = Ca, Sr, La), confirming their multiple band nature. Electronic structure is essentially three dimensional, in contrast to Fe pnictides and chalcogenides. LDA calculated Sommerfeld coefficient agrees rather well with experimental data, leaving little space for very strong coupling super-conductivity, suggested by experimental data on specific heat of SrPt₃P. Elementary estimates show, that the values of critical temperature can be explained by rather weak or moderately strong coupling, while the decrease in superconducting transition temperature T _c from Sr to La compound can be explained by corresponding decrease in total density of states at the Fermi level N(E _F). The shape of the density of states near the Fermi level suggests that in SrPt₃P electron doping (such as replacement Sr by La) decreases N(E _F) and T _c , while hole doping (e.g., partial replacement of Sr with K, Rb or Cs, if possible) would increase N(E _F) and possibly T _c .     

The valence electronic structure of conducting pyrrole polymers: Evidence against a linear metallic chain picture

A UPS study of various conducting polypyrrole films is presented. Most of the valence band features can be explained by states derived from the orbitals of the pyrrole monomer and the associated anion molecules. In close vicinity of the Fermi energy, a density of states is observed which decreases linearly towards E_F. The corresponding states are introduced by oligomer formation. The π-electronic density at E_F is reduced by at least two orders of magnitude compared to ordinary sp-metals. The UPS spectra are consistent with short conjugation lengths and large amounts of disorder, but the corresponding defect states can not directly be observed.     

Surface states of charge carriers in epitaxial films of the topological insulator Bi2Te3

The galvanomagnetic properties of p-type bismuth telluride heteroepitaxial films grown by the hot wall epitaxy method on oriented muscovite mica substrates have been investigated. Quantum oscillations of the magnetoresistance associated with surface electronic states in three-dimensional topological insulators have been studied in strong magnetic fields ranging from 6 to 14 T at low temperatures. The cyclotron effective mass, charge carrier mobility, and parameters of the Fermi surface have been determined based on the results of analyzing the magnetoresistance oscillations. The dependences of the cross-sectional area of the Fermi surface S(k _F), the wave vector k _F, and the surface concentration of charge carriers n _s on the frequency of magnetoresistance oscillations in p-type Bi₂Te₃ heteroepitaxial films have been obtained. The experimentally observed shift of the Landau level index is consistent with the value of the Berry phase, which is characteristic of topological surface states of Dirac fermions in the films. The properties of topological surface states of charge carriers in p-type Bi₂Te₃ films obtained by analyzing the magnetoresistance oscillations significantly expand fields of practical application and stimulate the investigation of transport properties of chalcogenide films.