Electronic spectroscopy studies of Cu(100) following atomic hydrogen exposure

Abstract

Using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), we show that the surface plasmon loss intensity is highly sensitive to surface contamination. We exploit this property to develop a new variation of temperature programmed desorption (TPD),which we term virtual TPD (VTPD), that is uniquely sensitive to the sample surface. We apply this to a long standing puzzle in the behavior of atomic hydrogen adsorbed on Cu(100). We suggest that bulk absorption of hydrogen under ultra-high vacuum conditions is responsible for observed anomalies in this system. We show additional examples of VTPD to related systems.