Direct Imaging of Thin Film Atomic Structure by Angular Distribution Auger Microscopy (ADAM)

• Published in: Applications of surface science Vol. 48-49; pp. 166 - 172
• Main Authors: Frank, D G, Golden, T, Chyan, O M R, Hubbard, A T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 13.08.1990
• ISSN: 0378-5963

Angular distributions of Auger electrons emitted from a thin film of electrodeposited Ag on Pt(111) are measured and displayed to investigate the structure and growth of the film. Complete angular distributions of 355 eV Ag Auger electrons are presented for deposition of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 100 monolayer (ML) quantities of Ag. In the early stages of deposition the observed angular distributions change significantly, revealing the symmetry and structure of the growing film. As deposition proceeds, the observed angular distribution converges to one essentially identical to that measured from Ag(111), except for a 180 deg rotation with respect to the Pt(111) substrate. Theoretical angular distributions based on atomic point emitters and spherical scatterers of Auger electrons predict many of the features in the observed distributions. These results illustrate the applicability of this methodology to the investigation of thin film atomic structure. Graphs. 17 ref.--AA