Electron energy loss spectroscopy with parallel readout of energy and momentum

We introduce a high energy resolution electron source that matches the requirements for parallel readout of energy and momentum of modern hemispherical electron energy analyzers. The system is designed as an add-on device to typical photoemission chambers. Due to the multiplex gain, a complete phonon dispersion of a Cu(111) surface was measured in seven minutes with 4 meV energy resolution

Paola Corti B., Rodrigo Moreno J., José Luis Widow L. (eds.), El Fin de la Historia, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez - Ediciones Altazor, Viña del Mar, 2008, ISBN 978-956-7472-61-1, 298 p.

Fil: Ibach, Hermann

Dielectric response effects in attosecond time-resolved streaked photoelectron spectra of metal surfaces

The release of conduction-band electrons from a metal surface by a sub-femtosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulse, and their propagation through the solid, provokes a dielectric response in the solid that acts back on the photoelectron wave packet. We calculated the (wake) potential associated with this photoelectron self-interaction in terms of bulk and surface plasmon excitations and show that it induces a considerable, XUV-frequency-dependent temporal shift in laser-streaked XUV photoemission spectra, suggesting the observation of the ultrafast solid-state dielectric response in contemporary streaked photoemission experiments.Comment: 4 pages and 4 figures, submitted to PR

Перспективы использования магнезиальных пород

A new operation mode of the lens system in electron energy loss spectrometers is proposed which brings the cardinal plane of the lenses closer to the sample. Experiments as well as electron optical calculations show an intensity gain by a factor of 3-4. The required voltages on the lens elements are calculated as function of the impact energy at the sample. Furthermore, the lens system is characterized with respect to the solid angle probed by the spectrometer and the transmission which enables the evaluation of spectral intensities in terms of the absolute scattering probability for elastic and inelastic scattering. The results apply to most existing electron energy loss spectrometers as they stem from the same design and use identical lens systems. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Novel Features of Potassium and Sodium Vibrations on Copper Surfaces Observed by High-Resolution Electron-Energy-Loss Spectroscopy

High-resolution electron-energy-loss spectra of alkali metals adsorbed on Cu show three unexpected features: the adsorbate-substrate stretching frequency does not change with coverage, within 1 meV on Cu(111) and Cu(110), in agreement with the covalent picture of chemisorption; the spectra show an unusual overtone which is interpreted as a consequence of a strongly non linear relationship between the surface dipole moment and the adsorbate-substrate distance; the dynamical dipole moment is strongly coverage dependent.

Effective mass in quasi two-dimensional systems

The effective mass of the quasiparticle excitations in quasi two-dimensional systems is calculated analytically. It is shown that the effective mass increases sharply when the density approaches the critical one of metal-insulator transition. This suggests a Mott type of transition rather than an Anderson like transition.Comment: 3 pages 3 figure

Twisted-light-induced optical transitions in semiconductors: Free-carrier quantum kinetics

We theoretically investigate the interband transitions and quantum kinetics induced by light carrying orbital angular momentum, or twisted light, in bulk semiconductors. We pose the problem in terms of the Heisenberg equations of motion of the electron populations, and inter- and intra-band coherences. Our theory extends the free-carrier Semiconductor Bloch Equations to the case of photo-excitation by twisted light. The theory is formulated using cylindrical coordinates, which are better suited to describe the interaction with twisted light than the usual cartesian coordinates used to study regular optical excitation. We solve the equations of motion in the low excitation regime, and obtain analytical expressions for the coherences and populations; with these, we calculate the orbital angular momentum transferred from the light to the electrons and the paramagnetic and diamagnetic electric current densities.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Spin waves in ultrathin hexagonal cobalt films on W(110), Cu(111), and Au(111) surfaces

Spin wave spectra of ultrathin epitaxial cobalt films deposited on W(110), Cu(111), and Au(111) surfaces are studied in the wave-vector regime between 0.1Å−1 and 0.7Å−1 using inelastic electron scattering with 6 meV energy resolution. Up to three different spin wave modes are resolved for wave vectors q∥0.35Å−1 and layers thicker than five atom layers the separate modes merge into a single, broad loss feature. Since the shape and position of the loss feature depend on the electron impact energy, a separation into different modes is nevertheless possible for not too large wave vectors. The spin wave dispersion curves of films grown on W(110) agree with those observed on Cu(111) if one takes into account that on copper the cobalt grows in islands so that the mean height of the islands is higher than the nominal coverage. On films grown on Au(111) the low wave vector spin waves are buried in the high elastic diffuse scattering caused by the considerable disorder in the films. The broader appearance of the spectra at higher wave vectors compared to films grown on W(110) and Cu(111) is quantitatively accounted for by disorder-induced kinematic broadening. Because of the granular growth on copper and gold primarily the spin wave spectrum of cobalt films on W(110) is amenable to quantitative theoretical analysis. Such an analysis is not available at present. We show however, that the dispersion curves are incompatible with the Heisenberg model as long as only a single, layer-independent exchange coupling constant is invoked

Dynamic polarization of graphene by moving external charges: random phase approximation

We evaluate the stopping and image forces on a charged particle moving parallel to a doped sheet of graphene by using the dielectric response formalism for graphene's $\pi$-electron bands in the random phase approximation (RPA). The forces are presented as functions of the particle speed and the particle distance for a broad range of charge-carrier densities in graphene. A detailed comparison with the results from a kinetic equation model reveal the importance of inter-band single-particle excitations in the RPA model for high particle speeds. We also consider the effects of a finite gap between graphene and a supporting substrate, as well as the effects of a finite damping rate that is included through the use of Mermin's procedure. The damping rate is estimated from a tentative comparison of the Mermin loss function with a HREELS experiment. In the limit of low particle speeds, several analytical results are obtained for the friction coefficient that show an intricate relationship between the charge-carrier density, the damping rate, and the particle distance, which may be relevant to surface processes and electrochemistry involving graphene.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Surface molecular dynamics simulation with two orthogonal surface steps: how to beat the particle conservation problem

Due to particle conservation, Canonical Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations fail in the description of surface phase transitions involving coverage or lateral density changes. However, a step on the surface can act effectively as a source or a sink of atoms, in the simulation as well as in real life. A single surface step can be introduced by suitably modifying planar Periodic Boundary Conditions (PBC), to accommodate the generally inequivalent stacking of two adjacent layers. We discuss here how, through the introduction of two orthogonal surface steps, particle number conservation may no longer represent a fatal constraint for the study of these surface transitions. As an example, we apply the method for estimating temperature-induced lateral density increase of the reconstructed Au (001) surface; the resulting anisotropic cell change is consistent with experimental observations. Moreover, we implement this kind of scheme in conjunction with the variable curvature MD method, recently introduced by our group.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Surface Science (ECOSS-19