Correlations between electron and positron workfunctions on copper surfaces

Abstract

We have performed contact potential difference measurements on low-index faces of copper in ultrahigh vacuum using positrons as positive test particles in a retarding field analyzer. For negative positron affinity surfaces bombarded with keV positrons we also measured energy distributions of reemitted slow positrons and found them to sharply peaked in energy about a value which we label −φ +. Both adsorbing sulfur on a Cu(111) sample and raising its temperature cause changes in φ + which are equal and opposite to the contact potential change of the sample, i.e. the electron workfunction change. This result is in complete accordance with φ + being a measure of the negative positron workfunction of the sample and high temperature or adsorbates inducing a change only in the electrostatic surface dipole layer.