Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy in a low-energy electron microscope.

Spectroscopic photoemission microscopy is a well-established method to investigate the electronic structure of surfaces. In modern photoemission microscopes, the electron optics allow imaging of the image plane, momentum plane, or dispersive plane, depending on the lens setting. Furthermore, apertures allow filtering of energy-, real-, and momentum space.

Catalytic CO oxidation on Pt under near ambient pressure: A NAP-LEEM study.

A near ambient pressure low-energy electron microscope (NAP-LEEM) has recently been constructed, that allows in situ imaging of surfaces up to a pressure of 10 mbar. Here we report on pattern formation in catalytic CO oxidation on a Pt(110) single crystal surface and on a polycrystalline Pt foil in the 10 mbar range, operating the microscope in the mirror electron microscopy (MEM) and in the LEEM mode. Excitations localized at structural defects and spiral wave fragments have been observed.

Influence of Substrate Bonding and Surface Morphology on Dynamic Organic Layer Growth: Perylenetetracarboxylic Dianhydride on Au(111).

We investigated the dynamics of the initial growth of the first epitaxial layers of perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) on the Au(111) surface with high lateral resolution using the aberration-corrected spectro-microscope SMART. With this instrument, we could simultaneously study the different adsorption behaviors and layer growth on various surface areas consisting of either a distribution of flat (111) terraces, separated by single atomic steps ("ideal surface"), or on areas with a high density of step bunches and defects ("realistic surface"). The combined use of photoemission electron microscopy, low-energy electron microscopy, and μ-spot X-ray absorption provided a wealth of new information, showing that the growth of the archetype molecule PTCDA not only has similarities but also has significant differences when comparing Au(111) and Ag(111) substrate surfaces.

The EIGER detector for low-energy electron microscopy and photoemission electron microscopy.

EIGER is a single-photon-counting hybrid pixel detector developed at the Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland. It is designed for applications at synchrotron light sources with photon energies above 5 keV. Features of EIGER include a small pixel size (75 µm × 75 µm), a high frame rate (up to 23 kHz), a small dead-time between frames (down to 3 µs) and a dynamic range up to 32-bit.

Direct observation of epitaxial organic film growth: temperature-dependent growth mechanisms and metastability.

The growth of the first ten layers of organic thin films on a smooth metallic substrate has been investigated in real-time using the model system PTCDA on Ag(111). The complex behaviour is comprehensively studied by electron microscopy, spectroscopy and diffraction in a combined PEEM/LEEM instrument revealing several new phenomena and yielding a consistent picture of this layer growth. PTCDA grows above room temperature in a Stranski-Krastanov mode, forming three-dimensional islands on a stable bi-layer, in competition with metastable 3rd and 4th layers.