Photoemission electron microscopy with chemical sensitivity: SPELEEM methods and applications

The instrumentation for synchrotron radiation X-ray photoemission electron microscopy (XPEEM) has recently undergone significant improvements, finding application in diverse fields such as magnetism, chemistry, surface science and nanostructure characterization. The spectroscopic photoemission and low energy electron microscope (SPELEEM) operational at the 'Nanospectroscopy beamline' at the Elettra synchrotron facility combines structural and spectroscopic analysis methods in a single instrument, exploiting the inherent chemical sensitivity of X rays. The SPELEEM reaches an energy resolution of 0.2 eV and a lateral resolution of few tens of nanometers in XPEEM. Selected results are used to illustrate the spectro-microscopic capabilities of the SPELEEM, and the usefulness of available complementary methods such as low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) and micro-spot low energy electron diffraction (LEED). Copyright (C) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.