Experimental determination of electron effective attenuation lengths in silicon dioxide thin films using synchrotron radiation I. Data analysis and comparisons

Abstract

We have measured effective attenuation lengths (EALs) of 140–1100 eV electrons in ultrathin silicon dioxide layers using synchrotron radiation. These EALs were generally smaller than those reported previously, although there was agreement with the values measured by Hochella and Carim (Surf. Sci. Lett. 1988; 197: L260). Our measured EALs were ∼37% smaller than the corresponding inelastic mean free paths calculated from optical data by Tanuma et al. Part of this difference is believed to be due to uncertainty in measurements of the oxide thickness and the remainder to the effects of elastic electron scattering. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.