Electronic densities of states from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Abstract

In x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), a sample is exposed to low energy x rays (approximately 1 keV), and the resultant photoelectrons are analyzed with high precision for kinetic energy. After correction for inelastic scattering, the measured photoelectron spectrum should reflect the valence band density of states, as well as the binding energies of several core electronic levels. All features in this spectrum will be modulated by appropriate photoelectric cross sections, and there are several types of final-state effects which could complicate the interpretation further.