Primary Electron Scattering in Co/Cu(110) Measured by Elastic and Loss Electrons

Elastically backscattered electrons and electron energy losses were measured for the Co/Cu(110) system at different incidence angles of the primary electron beam to obtain the directional elastic peak electron spectroscopy and directional electron energy loss spectroscopy profiles. The measurements were performed for clean and covered Cu(110) by equivalent quantities of 3 ML and 5 ML of Co. The directional elastic peak electron spectroscopy profiles show a similar distribution of intensity maxima for Cu(110) and Co/Cu(110), which indicates the epitaxial growth of Co layers. The chemical sensitive signal of electron energy losses (Cu and Co 3p(3/2)) recorded as a function of the incidence angle of primaries is characterized by modulations which reflect the order within the first few atomic layers of the investigated sample. Therefore, in the case of directional electron energy loss spectroscopy both the chemical and structural information is obtained.