Tutorial on Quantitative Electron Spectroscopy

Download data for electron spectroscopy here

Electron Spectroscopy Techniques are nowadays widely used for surface analysis. Signal electrons in electron spectroscopy have energies characteristic for the elements from which they are emitted. Often, the energy is even characteristic for the chemical state of the emitting atoms. Furthermore, the photionization process provides detailed insight in the electonic and magnetic structure of solid surfaces. Finally, in crystalline solids, detailed information on the crystalline structure of the solid is provided by angle resolved measurements of the signal electron diffraction pattern.

A prominent feature of these techniques is their extreme surface sensitivity, that stems from the strong interaction of the signal electrons (which have energies in the range between 50-2000 eV) with the solid. Therefore, electron beams are attenuated over distances in the nanometer range in the solid implying that the attenuation of electron beams can be utilized for length scale calibration in the nanometer range

The tutorial on this page provides an overview on the physics of the electron solid interaction and introduces some of the most important electron spectroscopy techniques.

Data for physical parameters of relevance in the field, such as the inelastic mean free path etc., are available for download here for some materials.

My contribution to the research in this field is described here.

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