USE OF SPIN-POLARIZED ELECTRON ENERGY-LOSS SPECTROSCOPY TO INVESTIGATE THE PROBING DEPTH OF LOW-ENERGY ELECTRONS AND THE MORPHOLOGY OF THIN METAL-FILMS

Spin-polarized electron energy-loss spectroscopy has been used to investigate the probing depth of low energy (approximately 30 eV) electrons at metal surfaces and to study the growth and morphology of monolayer-level metal films. Studies of the Cu(100)/Mo system show that the probing depth in molybdenum is small, approximately 1 monolayer, and that molybdenum grows layer-by-layer on Cu(100). Data for the Cu(100)/Fe system are also reported that suggest that iron deposition on a room-temperature Cu(100) substrate does not initially result in simple layer-by-layer growth.