Abstract
We have studied the ultrathin aluminum oxide film on NiAl(110) by a combination of high-resolution core-level spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. Energy-dependent core-level data from the O 1s and Al 2p levels allows for a distinction between oxygen and aluminum atoms residing at the surface or inside the aluminum oxide film. A comparison to calculated core-level binding energies from the recent model by Kresse et al. [Science 308, 1440 (2005)] reveals good agreement with experiment, and the complex spectroscopic signature of the thin Al oxide on NiAl(110) can be explained. Our assignment of a shifted component in the O 1s spectra to oxygen atoms at the surface with a particular Al and oxygen coordination may have implications for the interpretation of photoelectron-diffraction experiments from similar ultrathin aluminum oxide films.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 125417 |
Journal | Physical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics) |
Volume | 83 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics