Refine
Has Fulltext
- yes (19)
Is part of the Bibliography
- yes (19)
Year of publication
Document Type
- Doctoral Thesis (18)
- Journal article (1)
Language
- English (19) (remove)
Keywords
- Photoelektronenspektroskopie (19) (remove)
Institute
Sonstige beteiligte Institutionen
ResearcherID
- M-1240-2017 (1)
The studies presented in this thesis deal with resonant and non-resonant excitation of free variable size clusters using synchrotron radiation in the soft X-ray regime. The post collision interaction (PCI) effect is investigated in free variable size krypton and argon clusters near the Kr 3d and Ar 2p ionization energies. The core ionization energies of surface and bulk sites in variable size clusters can be clearly distinguished. This is mostly due to the polarization screening. It is found that the asymmetry, which is a consequence of PCI, is characteristically smaller for clusters than for isolated atoms. Moreover, there is less asymmetry for bulk sites than for surface sites in variable size rare gas clusters. We assign the results in terms of mechanisms that are based on quantum mechanical models of post collision interaction. Complementary experiments on the photoionization of free van der Waals clusters are performed by using zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy in the Ar 2p-, Kr 3d-, Ne 1s-, and N2-regimes. The experimental approach is also suitable to detect cluster size dependent changes in electronic structure. This also allows us to study post collision interaction in variable size clusters. The parameters of the PCI profiles deduced for ZEKE experiments indicate that there are no significant changes in core ionization dynamics compared to near-threshold experiments. Results from model calculations in Kr 3d ionization energy indicate that different geometric sites can be clearly distinguished from each other by their substantial shift in Kr 3d ionization energy, though the dimer shows almost the same Kr 3d ionization energy as the free atom. A comparison with the experimental results indicates that there is resemblance with the model calculations, even though close-lying ionization energies are blended and require deconvolutions of the experimental spectra. It is evident from the present work that one can observe distinct shifts in core ionization energies in van der Waals clusters that are formed in wide size distributions of a jet expansion. The emission of ultraviolet fluorescence radiation from variable size argon clusters is investigated with high spectral resolution in the Ar 2p-excitation regime. The fluorescence excitation spectra reveal strong fluorescence intensity in the Ar 2p-continuum, but no evidence for the occurrence of discrete low-lying core-exciton states in the near-edge regime. This finding is different from the absorption and photoionization cross sections of argon clusters and the solid. The dispersed fluorescence shows a broad molecular band centered near 280 nm. The present results are consistent with the formation of singly charged, excited moieties within the clusters, which are assigned as sources of the radiative relaxation in the 280 nm regime. A fast energy transfer process (interatomic Coulombic decay, ICD) is assigned to be primarily the origin of these singly charged, excited cations besides intra-cluster electron impact ionization by Auger electrons. Our findings give possibly the first experimental evidence for ICD in the core level regime. Free, variable size nitrogen clusters are investigated in the N 1s excitation regime in comparison with the free molecule and solid nitrogen. The conversion of Rydberg states into core excitons, surface and bulk, was studied. The experimental results are simulated by ab initio calculations using (N2)13 as a reasonable prototype cluster structure that allows us to simulate both surface and bulk properties in comparison with the isolated molecule. The present results clearly show that there are specific properties, such as molecular orientation, in molecular van der Waals clusters, which do not exist in atomic van der Waals clusters. It is shown that inner and outer surface sites give rise to distinct energy shifts of the low lying surface core excitons.
The approach of using the combination of Ultraviolet (UPS) and Inverse Photoemission (IPS) to determine the transport levels in thin films of organic semiconductors is the scope of this work. For this matter all influences on the peak position and width in Photoelectron Spectroscopy are discussed with a special focus on organic semiconductors. Many of these influences are shown with experimental results of the investigation of diindenoperylene on Ag(111). These findings are applied to inorganic semiconductors silicon in order to establish the use of UPS and IPS on a well-understood system. Finally, the method is used to determine the transport level of several organic semiconductors (PTCDA, Alq3, CuPc, DIP, PBI-H4) and the corresponding exciton binding energies are calculated by comparison to optical absorption data.
The present thesis deals with surface treatment, material improvement, and the electronic structure of the diluted magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As. The two key issues are the preparation of clean surfaces and the observation of potential valence hybridizations in (Ga,Mn)As by means of photoemission spectroscopy. Several cleaning methods are applied individually to (Ga,Mn)As and their e ects are compared in detail by various methods. Based on the results of each method, a sophisticated recipe has been elaborated, which provides clean, stoichiometric, and reconstructed surfaces, even if the sample was exposed to air prior to preparation. Moreover, the recipe works equally well for intentionally oxidized surfaces. The individual advantages of ex-situ wet- chemical etching and in situ ion-milling and tempering can be combined in an unique way. In regard to the post-growth annealing in order to optimize the electronic and magnetic properties of (Ga,Mn)As, the effect of surface segregation of interstitial Mn was quantifed. It turns out that the Mn concentration at the surface increases by a factor 4.3 after annealing at 190 C for 150 h. The removal of the segregated and oxidized species by wet-chemical etching allows a tentative estimate of the content of interstitial Mn. 19-23% of the overall Mn content in as-grown samples resides on interstitial positions. The complementary results of core level photoemission spectroscopy and resonant photoemission spectroscopy give hints to the fact that a sizeable valence hybridization of Mn is present in (Ga,Mn)As. This outlines that the simple Mn 3d5-con guration is too naive to refect the true electronic structure of substitutional Mn in (Ga,Mn)As. Great similarities in the core level spectra are found to MnAs. The bonding is thus dominantly of covalent, not ionic, character. Transport measurements, in particular for very low temperatures (<10 K), are in agreement with previous results. This shows that at low temperature, the conduction is mainly governed by variable-range hopping which is in line with the presence of an impurity band formed by substitutional Mn. In the light of the presented results, it is therefore concluded that a double-exchange interaction is the dominant mechanism leading to ferromagnetic coupling in (Ga,Mn)As. The valence hybridization and the presents of an impurity band, both of which are inherent properties of substitutional Mn, are indications for a double-exchange scenario, being at variance to a RKKY-based explanation. Contributions from a RKKY-like mechanism cannot definitely be excluded, however, they are not dominant.
The present thesis is concerned with molecular beam epitaxy of magnetite (Fe3O4) thin films on semiconducting substrates and the characterization of their structural, chemical, electronic, and magnetic properties. Magnetite films could successfully be grown on ZnO substrates with high structural quality and atomically abrupt interfaces. The films are structurally almost completely relaxed exhibiting nearly the same in-plane and out-of-plane lattice constants as in the bulk material. Films are phase-pure and show only small deviations from the ideal stoichiometry at the surface and in some cases at the interface. Growth proceeds via wetting layer plus island mode and results in a domain structure of the films. Upon coalescence of growing islands twin-boundaries (rotational twinning) and anti-phase boundaries are formed. The overall magnetization is nearly bulk-like, but shows a slower approach to saturation, which can be ascribed to the reduced magnetization at anti-phase boundaries. However, the surface magnetization which was probed by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism was significantly decreased and is ascribed to a magnetically inactive layer at the surface. Such a reduced surface magnetization was also observed for films grown on InAs and GaAs. Magnetite could also be grown with nearly ideal iron-oxygen stoichiometry on InAs substrates. However, interfacial reactions of InAs with oxygen occur and result in arsenic oxides and indium enrichment. The grown films are of polycrystalline nature. For the fabrication of Fe3O4/GaAs films, a postoxidation of epitaxial Fe films on GaAs was applied. Growth proceeds by a transformation of the topmost Fe layers into magnetite. Depending on specific growth conditions, an Fe layer of different thickness remains at the interface. The structural properties are improved in comparison with films on InAs, and the resulting films are well oriented along [001] in growth direction. The magnetic properties are influenced by the presence of the Fe interface layer as well. The saturation magnetization is increased and the approach to saturation is faster than for films on the other substrates. We argue that this is connected to a decreased density of anti-phase boundaries because of the special growth method. Interface phases, viz. arsenic and gallium oxides, are quantified and different growth conditions are compared with respect to the interface composition.
Oxide heterostructures attract a lot of attention as they display a vast range of physical phenomena like conductivity, magnetism, or even superconductivity. In most cases, these effects are caused by electron correlations and are therefore interesting for studying fundamental physics, but also in view of future applications. This thesis deals with the growth and characterization of several prototypical oxide heterostructures. Fe3O4 is highly ranked as a possible spin electrode in the field of spintronics. A suitable semiconductor for spin injection in combination with Fe3O4 is ZnO due to its oxide character and a sufficiently long spin coherence length. Fe3O4 has been grown successfully on ZnO using pulsed laser deposition and molecular beam epitaxy by choosing the oxygen partial pressure adequately. Here, a pressure variation during growth reduces an FeO-like interface layer. Fe3O4 films grow in an island-like growth mode and are structurally nearly fully relaxed, exhibiting the same lattice constants as the bulk materials. Despite the presence of a slight oxygen off-stoichiometry, indications of the Verwey transition hint at high-quality film properties. The overall magnetization of the films is reduced compared to bulk Fe3O4 and a slow magnetization behavior is observed, most probably due to defects like anti-phase boundaries originating from the initial island growth. LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures exhibit a conducting interface above a critical film thickness, which is most likely explained by an electronic reconstruction. In the corresponding model, the potential built-up owing to the polar LaAlO3 overlayer is compensated by a charge transfer from the film surface to the interface. The properties of these heterostructures strongly depend on the growth parameters. It is shown for the first time, that it is mainly the total pressure which determines the macroscopic sample properties, while it is the oxygen partial pressure which controls the amount of charge carriers near the interface. Oxygen-vacancy-mediated conductivity is found for too low oxygen pressures. A too high total pressure, however, destroys interface conductivity, most probably due to a change of the growth kinetics. Post-oxidation leads to a metastable state removing the arbitrariness in controlling the electronic interface properties by the oxygen pressure during growth. LaVO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures exhibit similar behavior compared to LaAlO3/SrTiO3 when it comes to a thickness-dependent metal-insulator transition. But in contrast to LaAlO3, LaVO3 is a Mott insulator exhibiting strong electron correlations. Films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition. Layer-by-layer growth and a phase-pure pervoskite lattice structure is observed, indicating good structural quality of the film and the interface. An electron-rich layer is found near the interface on the LaVO3 side for conducting LaVO3/SrTiO3. This could be explained by an electronic reconstruction within the film. The electrostatic doping results in a band-filling-controlled metal-insulator transition without suffering from chemical impurities, which is unavoidable in conventional doping experiments.
Two-Dimensional Electron Systems at Surfaces — Spin-Orbit Interaction and Electronic Correlations
(2012)
This thesis addresses three different realizations of a truly two-dimensional electron system (2DES), established at the surface of elemental semiconductors, i.e., Pt/Si(111), Au/Ge(111), and Sn/Si(111). Characteristic features of atomic structures at surfaces have been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction with special emphasis on Pt deposition onto Si(111). Topographic inspection reveals that Pt atoms agglomerate as trimers, which represent the structural building block of phase-slip domains. Surprisingly, each trimer is rotated by 30° with respect to the substrate, which results in an unexpected symmetry breaking. In turn, this represents a unique example of a chiral structure at a semiconductor surface, and marks Pt/Si(111) as a promising candidate for catalytic processes at the atomic scale. Spin-orbit interactions (SOIs) play a significant role at surfaces involving heavy adatoms. As a result, a lift of the spin degeneracy in the electronic states, termed as Rashba effect, may be observed. A candidate system to exhibit such physics is Au/Ge(111). Its large hexagonal Fermi sheet is suggested to be spin-split by calculations within the density functional theory. Experimental clarification is obtained by exploiting the unique capabilities of three-dimensional spin detection in spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. Besides verification of the spin splitting, the in-plane components of the spin are shown to possess helical character, while also a prominent rotation out of this plane is observed along straight sections of the Fermi surface. Surprisingly and for the first time in a 2DES, additional in-plane rotations of the spin are revealed close to high symmetry directions. This complex spin pattern must originate from crystalline anisotropies, and it is best described by augmenting the original Rashba model with higher order Dresselhaus-like SOI terms. The alternative use of group-IV adatoms at a significantly reduced coverage drastically changes the basic properties of a 2DES. Electron localization is strongly enhanced, and the ground state characteristics will be dominated by correlation effects then. Sn/Si(111) is scrutinized with this regard. It serves as an ideal realization of a triangular lattice, that inherently suffers from spin frustration. Consequently, long-range magnetic order is prohibited, and the ground state is assumed to be either a spiral antiferromagnetic (AFM) insulator or a spin liquid. Here, the single-particle spectral function is utilized as a fundamental quantity to address the complex interplay of geometric frustration and electronic correlations. In particular, this is achieved by combining the complementary strengths of ab initio local density approximation (LDA) calculations, state-of-the-art angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, and the sophisticated many-body LDA+DCA. In this way, the evolution of a shadow band and a band backfolding incompatible with a spiral AFM order are unveiled. Moreover, beyond nearest-neighbor hopping processes are crucial here, and the spectral features must be attributed to a collinear AFM ground state, contrary to common expectation for a frustrated spin lattice.
The present thesis is concerned with the impact of alkali metal-doping on the electronic structure of semiconducting organic thin films. The organic molecular systems which have been studied are the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons picene, pentacene, and coronene. Motivated by reports about exceptional behavior like superconductivity and electronic correlations of their alkali metal-doped compounds, high quality films fabricated from the above named molecules have been studied. The electronic structure of the pristine materials and their doped compounds has been investigated using photoelectron spectroscopy. Core level and valence band studies of undoped films yield excellent photoemission spectra agreeing with or even outperforming previously reported data from the literature. Alkali metal-doping manifests itself in a uniform manner in the electronic structure for all probed samples: Opposed to reports from the literature about metallicity and even superconductivity in alkali metal-doped picene, pentacene, and coronene, all films exhibit insulating nature with an energy gap of the order of one electron-volt. Remarkably, this is independent of the doping concentration and the type of dopant, i.e., potassium, cesium, or sodium. Based on the interplay between narrow bandwidths in organic semiconductors and sufficiently high on-molecule Coulomb repulsion, the non-metallicity is attributed to the strong influence of electronic correlations leading to the formation of a Mott insulator. In the case of picene, this is consolidated by calculations using a combination of density functional theory and dynamical mean-field theory. Beyond the extensive considerations regarding electronic correlations, further intriguing aspects have been observed. The deposition of thin picene films leads to the formation of a non-equilibrium situation between substrate and film surface. Here, the establishment of a homogeneous chemical potential is hampered due to the only weak van der Waals-interactions between the molecular layers in the films. Consequently, spectral weight is measurable above the reference chemical potential in photoemission. Furthermore, it has been found that the acceptance of additional electrons in pentacene is limited. While picene and coronene are able to host up to three extra electrons, in pentacene the limit is already reached for one electron. Finally, further extrinsic effects, coming along with alkali metal-doping, have been scrutinized. The oxidation of potassium atoms induced by the reaction with molecular oxygen in the residual gas of the ultra-high vacuum system turned out to significantly influence the electronic structure of alkali metal-doped picene and coronene. Moreover, also the applied X-ray and UV irradiation caused a certain impact on the photoemission spectra. Surprisingly, both effects did not play a role in the studies of potassium-doped pentacene.
This thesis consists of two parts of original experimental work, its evaluation, and in- terpretation. Its final goal is to investigate dynamical charge transfer (CT) at a hetero- molecular interface with resonant photoelectron spectroscopy (RPES). In order to achieve this goal preliminary studies have been necessary. First two hetero-molecular inter- faces that exhibit adequate structural properties as well as an appropriate photoelec- tron spectroscopy (PES) spectrum of the valence regime have been identified. The de- sired CT analysis with RPES of these hetero-molecular systems is then conducted on the basis of the knowledge gained by previous RPES studies of homo-molecular sys- tems.
The characterization of hetero-molecular films on single crystal Ag surfaces in the first part of this thesis is performed with high resolution core level PES and valence PES. The reproduction of the core level PES data with reference spectra of homo-molecular films allows me to determine which molecule is in direct contact to the Ag surface and which one is situated in higher layers (not the first one). Due to the direct correspon- dence of core level and valence PES the assignment of features in the spectra of the latter technique can be achieved with the identification of the contributions extracted from the evaluation of the data of the former technique. It is found that the systems PTCDA on one monolayer (ML) of SnPc on Ag(111) and CuPc/1 ML PTCDA/Ag(111) are stable at 300 K which means that no significant layer exchange occurs for these systems. In contrast a vertical exchange of CuPc and PTCDA molecules is observed for PTCDA de- posited on top of 1 ML CuPc/Ag(111). Up to a coverage of approximately 0.5 ML of PTCDA molecules these diffuse into the first layer, replace CuPc molecules, and con- sequently force them into higher layers. Above a coverage of approximately 0.5 ML of PTCDA molecules these are also found in higher layers. The search for a promising system for the intended RPES study then leads to an investigation of hetero-molecular films with a combination of F4TCNQ and PTCDA molecules on Ag(110) within the same approach. Depositing F4TCNQ molecules onto a 1 ML PTCDA/Ag(110) film in the herringbone phase at 300 K results in an instable hetero-organic system which un- dergoes a layer exchange. Hereby PTCDA molecules in the first layer are replaced by F4TCNQ molecules similar to the behavior of the system PTCDA/1 ML CuPc/Ag(111). Switching the order of the preparation steps leads to a stable film of PTCDA/1.0 ML F4TCNQ/Ag(110) at 300 K. Among the stable hetero-molecular films only the system CuPc/1 ML PTCDA/Ag(111) exhibits the required wetting growth of the first two layers at 300 K and a valence PES spectrum with energetically separable molecular orbital signals in the same intensity range. Thus this system is identified to be appropriate for a detailed analysis with RPES.
The unexpected findings of vertical exchanges in the hetero-molecular films at 300 K motivate a study of the behavior at elevated temperatures for all systems investigated before. Therein it is revealed that annealing 1.5 ML SnPc/1 ML PTCDA/Ag(111) and
1.0 ML PTCDA/1 ML SnPc/Ag(111) to a temperature above the desorption temperature of molecules not in direct contact to the Ag(111) surface results in a 1 ML SnPc/Ag(111) film in both cases. Hence at elevated temperatures (approximately above 420 K) SnPc molecules replace PTCDA molecules in the first layer on Ag(111). At higher temper- atures (approximately above 470 K) PTCDA molecules and SnPc molecules situated above the first layer then desorb from the 1 ML SnPc/Ag(111) sample. Annealing all hetero-molecular films with CuPc and PTCDA molecules on Ag(111) to 570 K leads to a sample with CuPc and PTCDA molecules in the first and only layer. Depending on the initial CuPc coverage different ratios of both molecules are obtained. With a CuPc coverage of exactly 1 ML, or above, films with PTCDA coverages of approxi- mately 0.1–0.2 ML are produced. So at elevated temperatures CuPc molecules replace PTCDA molecules in the first layer of the system CuPc/1 ML PTCDA/Ag(111). Anal- ogously the layer exchange at 300 K for the system PTCDA/1 ML CuPc/Ag(111) is reversed at elevated temperatures. In the case of SnPc and CuPc coverages below 1 ML annealing vertical hetero-molecular systems with PTCDA on Ag(111) up to 570 K re- sults in a single layer of mixed hetero-molecular films with lateral long range order. In this way the system CuPc + PTCDA/Ag(111) is prepared and then characterized as a proper system for a detailed analysis with RPES. Additional annealing experiments of hetero-organic films consisting of F4TCNQ and PTCDA molecules on Ag(110) with an F4TCNQ coverage of 1.0 ML (and above) end in a submonolayer (sub-ML) film of F4TCNQ/Ag(110) that exhibits a contribution of amorphous carbon. Consequently, it can be concluded that at elevated temperatures part of the F4TCNQ molecules decom- pose.
In the second part of this thesis homo-molecular multilayer samples and (sub-)ML films on single crystalline metal surfaces are investigated with RPES in order to enable the final RPES study of vertical and lateral hetero-molecular interface systems. First a pho- ton energy (hν) dependent intensity variation of (groups of) molecular orbital signals of exemplary multilayer films (NTCDA and coronene) is studied and explained on the basis of the local character of the electronic transitions in near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy in combination with the real space probability den- sity of the contributing molecular orbitals. This simple approach is found to be able to correctly describe relative intensity variations by orders of magnitude while it fails for hν dependent relative intensity changes in the same order of magnitude. After that the hν dependent line-shape evolution of an energetically separated molecular orbital signal of a CuPc multilayer is discussed in relation to small molecules in the gas phase and explained with an effect of electron vibration coupling. Through a comparison of the hν dependent line-shape evolution of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of a CuPc with a SnPc multilayer the molecule specific character of this effect is identified. Then the same effect with either two (or more) electronic transitions or multiple coupling vibrational modes is observed for a coronene multilayer. Thereafter the influence of the adsorption on metal surfaces on this effect is studied and discussed with special emphasis on a possible contribution by features which are related to dynamical interface CT. For a sub-ML of SnPc/Au(111) no variation with respect to a SnPc multilayer film is detected while for a sub-ML of CuPc/Au(111) less intensity is distributed into the high binding energy (EB) part of the HOMO signal with respect to the corresponding multilayer film. In the RPES data of a sub-ML of coronene/Ag(111) a resonance specific variation of the hν dependent line-shape evolution of the HOMO signal is found by the revelation of a change of this effect with respect to the coronene multilayer data in only one of the two NEXAFS resonances. All these findings are consistently explained within one effect and a common set of parameters, namely all quantities that characterize the potential energy surfaces involved in the RPES process. Through that an alternative explanation that re- lies on dynamical CT can be excluded which influences the following CT analysis with RPES.
Three criteria for such an analysis of dynamical interface CT with RPES are identified. In the system coronene on Ag(111) a low EB feature is related to metal-molecule inter- face CT through the assignment of a particular final state and hence named CT state. In the EB region of the frontier molecular orbital signals of the molecule-metal inter- face systems with a signal from the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) in direct valence PES a broad line-shape is measured in RPES. This finding is related to interface CT by a possible explanation that emerges through the comparison to the line- shape of the CT state. The constant kinetic energy (EK ) features detected for several molecule-metal interfaces constitute the third criterion for a CT analysis with RPES. For the molecule-metal interface systems without a LUMO signal in direct valence PES the energy of these features can be calculated with the assignment of the responsible decay channel in combination with explicitly given simplifying assumptions. Through that the involvement of metal-molecule interface CT in the generation of these constant EK fea- tures is demonstrated. The RPES data of the lateral and the vertical hetero-molecular interface, identified in the first part, is then scanned for these three CT criteria. Thereby neither for the lateral hetero-molecular system CuPc + PTCDA/Ag(111) nor for the verti- cal hetero-molecular system CuPc/1 ML PTCDA/Ag(111) dynamical hetero-molecular interface CT can be confirmed. In the former system the molecule-metal interface in- teraction is found to dominate the physics of the system in RPES while in the latter system no hints for a significant hybridization at the CuPc-PTCDA interface can be revealed
In this thesis, thin-film solar cells on the basis of Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 (CIGSSe) were investigated.
Until today, most high efficient CIGSSe-based solar cells use a toxic and wetchemical deposited CdS buffer layer, which doesn’t allow a dry inline production. However, a promising and well-performing alternative buffer layer, namely indium sulfide, has been found which doesn’t comprise these disadvantages. In order to shed light on these well-performing devices, the surfaces and in particular the interfaces which play a major role for the charge carrier transport are investigated in the framework of this thesis. Both, the chemical and electronic properties of the solar cells’ interfaces were characterized.
In case of the physical vapor deposition of an InxSy-based buffer layer, the cleaning step of the CdS chemical-bath deposition is not present and thus changes of the absorber surface have to be taken into account. Therefore, adsorbate formation, oxidation, and segregation of absorber elements in dependence of the storing temperature and the humidity are investigated in the first part of this thesis.
The efficiencies of CIGSSe-based solar cells with an InxSy buffer layer depend on the nominal indium concentration x and display a maximum for x = 42 %. In this thesis, InxSy samples with a nominal indium concentration of 40.2% ≤ x ≤ 43.2% were investigated by surface-sensitive and surface-near bulk-sensitive techniques, namely with photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES). The surfaces of the films were found to be sulfur-poor and indium-rich in comparison with stoichiometric In2S3. Moreover, a direct determination of the band alignment at the InxSy/CISSe interface in dependence of the nominal indium concentration x was conducted with the help of PES and inverse PES (IPES) and a flat band alignment was found for x = 42 %.
In order to study the impact of a heat treatment as it occurs during subsequent cell process steps, the indium sulfide-buffered absorbers were annealed for 30 minutes under UHV conditions at 200 °C after the initial data set was taken. Besides a reported enhanced solar cell performance, a significant copper diffusion from the absorber into the buffer layer takes place due to the thermal treatment. Accordingly, the impact of the copper diffusion on the hidden InxSy/CISSe interface was discussed and for x = 40.2% a significant cliff (downwards step in the conduction band) is observed. For increasing x, the alignment in the conduction band turns into a small upwards step (spike) for the region 41% ≤ x ≤ 43.2%. This explains the optimal solar cell performance for this indium contents.
In a further step, the sodium-doped indium sulfide buffer which leads to significantly higher efficient solar cells was investigated. It was demonstrated by PES/IPES that the enhanced performance can be ascribed to a significant larger surface band gap in comparison with undoped InxSy. The occurring spike in the Na:InxSy/CISSe band alignment gets reduced due to a Se diffusion induced by the thermal treatment. Furthermore, after the thermal treatment the sodium doped indium sulfide layer experiences a copper diffusion which is reduced by more than a factor of two compared to pure InxSy.
Next, the interface between the Na:InxSy buffer layer and the i-ZnO (i = intrinsic, non-deliberately doped), as a part of the transparent front contact was analyzed. The i-ZnO/Na:InxSy interface shows significant interdiffusion, leading to the formation of, e.g., ZnS and hence to a reduction of the nominal cliff in the conduction band alignment.
In the last part of this thesis, the well-established surface-sensitive reflective electron energy loss spectroscopy (REELS) was utilized to study the CIGSSe absorber, the InxSy buffer, and annealed InxSy buffer surfaces. By fitting the characteristic inelastic scattering cross sections λK(E) with Drude-Lindhard oscillators the dielectric function was identified. The determined dielectric functions are in good agreement with values from bulk-sensitive optical measurements on indium sulfide layers. In contrast, for the chalcopyrite-based absorber significant differences appear. In particular, a substantial larger surface band gap of the CIGSSe surface of E^Ex_Gap = (1.4±0.2) eV in comparison with bulk values is determined. This provides for the first time an independent verification of earlier PES/IPES results. Finally, the electrons’ inelastic mean free paths l for the three investigated surfaces are compared for different primary energies with theoretical values and the universal curve.
In this thesis the excited-state dynamics of radicals and biradicals were characterized with femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy.
These open-shell molecules play important roles as combustion intermediates, in the formation of soot and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, in atmospheric chemistry and in the formation of complex molecules in the interstellar medium and galactic clouds. In these processes molecules frequently occur in some excited state, excited either by thermal energy or radiation. Knowledge of the reactivity and dynamics of these excited states completes our understanding of these complex processes.
These highly reactive molecules were produced via pyrolysis from suitable precursors and examined in a molecular beam under collision-free conditions. A first laser now excites the molecule, and a second laser ionizes it. Time-of-flight mass spectrometry allowed a first identification of the molecule, photoelectron spectroscopy a complete characterization of the molecule - under the condition that the mass spectrum was dominated by only one mass. The photoelectron spectrum was obtained via velocity-map imaging, providing an insight in the electronic states involved. Ion velocity map imaging allowed separation of signal from direct ionization of the radical in the molecular beam and dissociative photoionization of the precursor. During this thesis a modified pBasex algorithm was developed and implemented in python, providing an image inversion tool without interpolation of data points. Especially for noisy photoelectron images this new algorithm delivers better results.
Some highlighted results:
• The 2-methylallyl radical was excited in the ππ*-state with different internal energies using three different pump wavelengths (240.6 , 238.0 and 236.0 nm). Ionized with 800 nm multi-photon probe, the photoelectron spectra shows a s-Rydberg fingerprint spectrum, a highly positive photoelectron anisotropy of 1.5 and a bi-exponential decay ( τ1= 141\pm43 fs, τ2= 4.0\pm0.2 ps for 240.6 nm pump), where the second time-constant shortens for lower wavelengths. Field-induced surface hopping dynamics calculations confirm that the initially excited ππ*-state relaxes very fast to an s-Rydberg state (first experimentally observed time-constant), and then more slowly to the first excited state/ground state (second time-constant). With higher excitation energies the conical intersection between the s-Rydberg-state and the first excited state is reached faster, resulting in shorter life-times.
• The benzyl radical was excited yith 265 nm and probed with two wavelengths, 798 nm and 398 nm. Probed with 798 nm it shows a bi-exponential decay (\tau_{1}=84\pm5 fs, \tau_{2}=1.55\pm0.12 ps), whereas with 398 nm probe only the first time-constant is observed (\tau_{1}=89\pm5 fs). The photoelectron spectra with 798 nm probe is comparable to the spectrum with 398 nm probe during the first 60 fs, at longer times an additional band appears. This band is due to a [1+3']-process, whereas with 398 nm only signal from a [1+1']-process can be observed. Non-adiabatic dynamic on the fly calculations show that the initially excited, nearly degenerate ππ/p-Rydberg-states relax very fast (first time-constant) to an s-Rydberg state. This s-Rydberg state can no longer be ionized with 398 nm, but with 798 nm ionization via intermediate resonances is still possible. The s-Rydberg state then decays to the first excited state (second time-constant), which is long-lived.
• Para-xylylene, excited with 266 nm into the S2-state and probed with 800 nm, shows a bi-exponential decay (\tau_{1}=38\pm7 fs, \tau_{2}=407\pm9 fs). The initially excited S2-state decays quickly to S1-state, which shows dissociative photoionization. The population of the S1-state is directly visible in the masses of the dissociative photoionization products, benzene and the para-xylylene -H.
• Ortho-benzyne, produced via pyrolysis from benzocyclobutendione, was excited with 266 nm in the S2 state and probed with 800 nm. In its time-resolved mass spectra the dynamic of the ortho-benzyne signal was superposed with the dynamics from dissociative photoionization of the precursor and of the ortho-benzyne-dimer. With time-resolved ion imaging gated on the ortho-benzyne these processes could be seperated, showing that the S2-state of ortho-benzyne relaxes within 50 fs to the S1-state.