Atomic surface structure and secondary electron emission

stoa

The most popular method for image creation in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) is to use the secondary electron signal. It is generally assumed that secondary electrons are emitted isotropically i.e. with no particular preferred direction, but we now know that the atomic structure of the surface does in fact play a role. This DPhil project is concerned with correlating secondary electron emission using an ultra high vacuum SEM with atomic structure imaged in a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM). Both these techniques are located on the same world-leading instrument in Oxford. The powerful combination of signals will provide a hitherto unexplored path into some very fundamental aspects of nanoscale surface structure. There is also the likelyhood that the experiments will be further expanded through the use of the PEEM instument at the Diamond synchrotron.

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