STUDY OF SOLID-SURFACES BY METASTABLE ELECTRON-EMISSION MICROSCOPY - ENERGY-FILTERED IMAGES AND LOCAL ELECTRON-SPECTRA AT THE OUTERMOST SURFACE-LAYER OF SILICON-OXIDE ON SI(100)

We have observed images and local electron spectra of an oxide pattern on Si(100) using metastable electron emission microscopy (MEEM) recen tly developed at our laboratory. Low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) was also used. For both MEEM and LEEM, the energy-filtered images wer e obtained for the first time. It was shown that MEEM gives the inform ation on the outermost surface layer selectively, while LEEM provides averaged information on several surface layers, The intensity of the b and in the local electron spectrum of MEEM can be related to the distr ibution of the relevant orbitals exposed outside the surface, with whi ch metastable atoms interact effectively. Thus, using energy-filtered MEEM, we can observe the map reflecting the distribution of individual orbitals at the outermost surface layer. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.