University of Hamburg, Institute of Applied Physics and Microstructure Research Center, Jungiusstrasse 11, D-20355 Hamburg, Germany
Abstract:
The electronic structure of hydrogen adsorbate-induced states on Gd(0001) was investigated by means of photoelectron spectroscopy with linearly polarized radiation. The E vector of the incoming photon beam is rotatable. Clean and well-ordered rare-earth (0001) surfaces exhibit a highly localized surface state near the Fermi edge. After the adsorption of hydrogen, the surface state disappears and an additional sharp feature at about 4 eV binding energy is observed. For this latter
state, the ratio of the radial matrix elements as well as the relative phase shifts were determined to be R=Rp/Rf=2.4±0.3 and δf−δp=310±10°, respectively. The removal of the Gd surface state by hydrogen adsorption was investigated by means of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). The removal of the surface state exhibits domain-like behavior, with surface steps acting as domain boundaries. The tunneling spectra reveal that hydrogen adsorption causes a dramatic reduction in the differential conductivity near the Fermi level.