Cheng-Tien Chiang

High efficiency electron spin polarization analyzer based on exchange scattering at Fe∕W(001)

We report on a compact electron spin analyzer based on exchange scattering from a magnetic surface. The heart of the detector is an Fe(001) thin film grown on W(001) with chemisorbed oxygen in the p(1 x 1) structure. The device is mounted at the exit of an energy dispersive analyzer and works at a scattering energy of about 13.5 eV. Its figure of merit is 2 x 10(-3), combined with an excellent stability of more than 2 weeks in UHV.

Spin resolved photoelectron microscopy using a two-dimensional spin-polarizing electron mirror

We report on an imaging spin-filter for electrons. The specular reflection of low-energy electrons at the surface of a tungsten single crystal is used to project a spin-filtered two-dimensional image onto a position sensitive detector. Spin-filtering is based on the spin-dependent reflectivity of electrons due to spin-orbit coupling in the scattering target, while a two-dimensional field of view, encoded in the angle of incidence, is conserved in the outgoing beam. We characterize the efficiency of the spin-filter by recording photoelectron emission microscopy images of the magnetic domain structure of 8 monolayers cobalt grown on copper (100).

High-order harmonic generation at 4 MHz as a light source for time-of-flight photoemission spectroscopy

We demonstrate high-order harmonic generation (HHG) at 4 MHz driven by a long-cavity femtosecond laser oscillator. The laser output is used directly in a tight focusing geometry, where the harmonics are generated from a gas jet with high backing pressure. The harmonic light source is applied to time-of-flight photoemission spectroscopy, and the characteristic electronic structure of Cu(111) is measured. Our results suggest a straightforward design of high-order harmonic generation at megahertz repetition rate and pave the way for applications in electron spectroscopy and microscopy.

Electron pair emission detected by time-of-flight spectrometers: Recent progress

We present results for electron coincidence spectroscopy using two time-of-flight (ToF) spectrometers. Excited by electron impact, the energy and momentum distribution of electron pairs emitted from the Cu(111) surface are resolved and a spectral feature related to the Shockley surface state is identified. By combining the two ToF spectrometers with a high-order harmonic generation light source, we demonstrate double photoemission spectroscopy in the laboratory that required synchrotron radiation in the past. Utilizing this setup, we report results for (γ,2e) on NiO(001) on Ag(001) excited with light at 30 eV photon energy.

Controlled growth of Co nanoparticle assembly on nanostructured template Al2O3/NiAl(100)

Based on the systematic studies of the growth temperature, deposition rate, and annealing effects, the control of Co nanoparticle density, size, and alignment is demonstrated to be feasible on a nanostructured template Al2O3∕NiAl(100). At 140–170K, a slow deposition rate (0.027ML∕min) promises both the linear alignment and the high particle density. 1.5 ML Co nanoparticle assembly sustains the density of ∼260∕104nm2 even after 800–1090K annealing. This study also indicates the possibilities of the controlled growth for nanoparticles of different materials.

Boosting laboratory photoelectron spectroscopy by megahertz high-order harmonics

Since the discovery of the photoelectric effect, photoelectron spectroscopy has evolved into the most powerful technique for studying the electronic structure of materials. Moreover, the recent combination of photoelectron experiments with attosecond light sources using high-order harmonic generation (HHG) allows direct observation of electron dynamics in real time. However, the efficiency of these experiments is greatly limited by space-charge effects at typically low repetition rates of photoexcitation. Here, we demonstrate HHG-based laboratory photoemission experiments at a photoelectron count rate of 1 ? 105 electrons/s and characterize the main features of the electronic band structure of Ag(001) within several seconds without significant degradation by the space-charge effects. The combination of a compact HHG light source at megahertz repetition rates with the efficient collection of photoelectrons using time-of-flight spectroscopy may allow rapid investigation of electronic bands in a flexible laboratory environment and pave the way for an efficient design of attosecond spectroscopy and microscopy.

Direct k-space imaging of Mahan cones at clean and Bi-covered Cu(111) surfaces

Using a specifically tailored experimental approach, we revisit the exemplary effect of photoemission from quasi-free electronic states in crystals. Applying a momentum microscope, we measure photoelectron momentum patterns emitted into the complete half-space above the sample after excitation from a linearly polarized laser light source. By the application of a fully three-dimensional (3D) geometrical model of direct optical transitions, we explain the characteristic intensity distributions that are formed by the photoelectrons in k-space under the combination of energy conservation and crystal momentum conservation in the 3D bulk as well as at the two-dimensional (2D) surface. For bismuth surface alloys on Cu(111), the energy-resolved photoelectron momentum patterns allow us to identify specific emission processes in which bulk excited electrons are subsequently diffracted by an atomic 2D surface grating. The polarization dependence of the observed intensity features in momentum space is explained based on the different relative orientations of characteristic reciprocal space directions with respect to the electric field vector of the incident light.

Domain imaging on multiferroic BiFeO3(001) by linear and circular dichroism in threshold photoemission

We demonstrate ferroelectric domain imaging at BiFeO3(001) single crystalsurfaces with laser-based threshold photoemission electron microscopy(PEEM).Work function differences and linear dichroism allow for the identification of the eight independent ferroelectric domain configurations in the PEEM images. There, the determined domain structure is consistent with piezoresponse force microscopy of the sample surface and can also be related to the circular dichroic PEEM images. Our results provide a method for efficient mapping of complex ferroelectric domains with laser-excited PEEM and may allow lab-based time-resolved studies of the domain dynamics in the future.

Band structure effects in above threshold photoemission

We have performed an angle-resolved two-photon and three-photon photoemission study of the Ag(111) surface employing ultrashort laser pulses as the excitation source. We show the presence of multi-photon resonances between electronic states at selected points of the Brillouin zone which appear in the high-order photoemission spectral region. We observe clear signatures of electronic band structure effects of the Ag crystal in above-threshold photoemission (ATP) processes, identifying two types of transitions, which either proceed via non-resonant multi-photon excitation from an occupied initial state, or involve a real intermediate state located above the vacuum level of the solid directly influencing the ATP process. For this latter class of phenomena, we suggest that electron populations created by incoherent processes give a contribution to the multi-photon transition, possibly allowing us to trace the transmission of photoexcited electrons through the crystal.

Extended energy range analysis for angle-resolved time-of-flight photoelectron spectroscopy

An approximation method for electrostatic time-of-flight (ToF) spectroscopy on photoelectrons distributed over a wide energy range is presented. This method is an extension of conventional analysis and aims at specific energy and angular regions, where distinctly different emission angles and energies are mapped to the same ToF and detector position by the spectrometer. The general formulation and the systematic errors are presented, and a practical example is demonstrated for photoelectrons from Ag(001) with kinetic energies of 0.5–25 eV.