Calculation of Auger electron diffraction at a Ni(111) surface

Abstract

A new formalism for the calculation of elastic multiple-scattering processes of electrons is presented, which takes the spherical character of the electron waves fully into account. It is based on a magnetic quantum number expansion of the electron Green's function and makes extensive use of recurrence relations. In the present paper this method is applied to the escaping electron in the final state of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Formulae for an analytic integration of the electron intensity over the aperture of the detector are derived and inserted into this calculation scheme. Within this framework angle-resolved M23VV Auger electron intensities from a clean Ni(111) surface are calculated for the first time and compared with experimental data.