Interfaces in semiconductor components or solar cells play a crucial role for functionality. Nevertheless, until now it has often been difficult to investigate adjacent thin films separately using spectroscopic methods. An HZB team at BESSY II has combined two different spectroscopic methods and used a model system to demonstrate how well they can be distinguished.
Photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) enables the chemical analysis of surfaces and semiconductor layers. In this process, an X-ray pulse (photons) hits the sample and excites electrons to leave the sample. With special detectors, it is then possible to measure the direction and binding energy of these electrons and thus obtain information about electronic structures and the chemical environment of the atoms in the material. However, if the binding energies are close to each other in adjacent layers, then it is hardly possible to distinguish these layers from each other with PES.
A team at HZB has now shown how precise assignments can nevertheless be achieved: they combined photoelectron spectroscopy with a second spectroscopic method: Auger electron spectroscopy. Here, photoelectrons and Auger electrons are measured simultaneously, which gives the resulting method its name: APECS for Auger electron photoelectron coincidence spectroscopy (APECS).
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Image: The illustration shows how the APECS measurement works on a nickel single crystal with an oxidised surface. An X-ray beam ionises atoms, either in the nickel crystal or on the surface. The excited photoelectrons from the surface and from the crystal have slightly different binding energies. The Auger electrons make it possible to determine the origin of the photoelectrons.
Credit: © Martin Künsting /HZB