Chemical-state-specific low-energy photoelectron diffraction on III-V semiconductors

Abstract

A theoretical photoelectron diffraction (PD) study was performed on the (110) surface of III–V semiconductors like InSb, GaSb, InP, GaP, InAs and GaAs at low photon energies (40–90 eV) in order to probe the influence of the scattering properties of the different atoms in these semiconductors as well as that of the geometric structure. The atoms at the surface are chemically different from their bulk counterparts and by achieving the photoelectron diffraction intensities from each one, it is possible to probe independently the structural environment around each atomic species. In a photoemission experiment as a consequence of high surface sensitivity and overall experimental resolution the core-level peaks can be decomposed into bulk and surface components. As an example experimental and theoretical photoelectron diffraction data for InP(110) are compared to find out the sensitivity of the PD pattern to the structural parameters.