High Kinetic Energy Photoelectron Spectroscopy

The HAXPES Spectrometer

The HIKE end-station has been set-up in late 2005 and begun user operation in 2006. The system is designed for hard X-ray high kinetic energy photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES or HIKE) experiments using a photon excitation energy range from 2 keV to 12 keV with an optimized available photoelectron kinetic energy range from 150 eV to 10000 eV.

While soft x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, e.g. ESCA, is one of the most important spectroscopic tools of today due to its surface sensitivity, HAXPES goes beyond the surface and probes the true bulk electronic properties of materials. The technique insensitivity to surface effects and contaminants allows the study of samples without particular surface treatments such as prototype systems for applications such as magnetic memories, solar cells, batteries, etc.

The HIKE end-station is installed at the KMC-1 beamline. Typical experiments running on the HIKE end station are investigations of bulk samples, multilayers and heterostructures where core levels and valence band are recorded, buried interfaces are accessed and spatially resolved chemical information by x-ray standing waves is recorded. In addition to HAXPES experiments the station also provides parallel access to the sample drain current (TEY) and the signal from a fluorescence detector (FY) thus enabling absorption experiments: XANES and EXAFS.

Instrument application

• extended depth profiling yielding stoichiometry and chemistry information
• buried interface chemistry investigations e.g. diffusion, order disorder transitions  
• standing waves enhanced HAXPES