Auger electron diffraction in thin CoO films on Au(1 1 1)

• Published in: Surface science Vol. 602; no. 2; pp. 443 - 451
• Main Authors: Chassé, A., Niebergall, L., Heiler, M., Neddermeyer, H., Schindler, K.-M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 15.01.2008; Amsterdam Elsevier Science; New York, NY
• Subjects: Auger electron diffraction; Auger electron spectroscopy; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; CoO; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Exact sciences and technology; Multiple-scattering cluster model; Physics; Structure; Thin film; Transition metal oxide; Transition metal oxide; CoO; Multiple-scattering cluster model; Auger electron spectroscopy; Auger electron diffraction; Structure; Thin film; Electron diffraction; Multiple scattering; Cluster model; AES; Thin films; Transition elements
• ISSN: 0039-6028; 1879-2758
• DOI: 10.1016/j.susc.2007.10.048

The local structure of thin CoO films grown on a single crystal Au(1 1 1) surface has been studied by Auger electron diffraction (AED). Therefore, the angular dependence of the Auger electron intensity of Co-LMM and O-KLL Auger electrons was recorded in the total half-space above the film. Such 2 π-scans immediately reflect the symmetry of the surface and the local structure of the film. The experimental data are compared to multiple-scattering cluster calculations, where both the influence of multiple-scattering effects and effects of Auger transition matrix elements have been investigated. We have found that the AED patterns of a CoO film in forward-scattering conditions do not always provide straightforward information on the local structure of the film, whereas the multiple-scattering approximation applied gives very good agreement between experimental and theoretical results.