RETARDING-FIELD ANALYZER USED IN ELASTIC PEAK ELECTRON-SPECTROSCOPY

The percentage, eta(e), of electrons elastically reflected by a substr ate is a fundamental parameter for elastic peak electron spectroscopy (EPES). A Retarding Field Analyser with ifs large acceptance angle can be used for this spectroscopy. However, distortion is observed in the low energy side of the recorded elastic peak, increasing with the ene rgy of the impinging electrons, which introduces difficulty for eta(e) measurement. To eliminate this difficulty, we propose in this paper a method to obtain eta(e) using a reference curve. The process is appli ed to the study of the Ag/Mo system, as well as experimental determina tion of the mean free path of electrons in indium samples. (C) 1997 El sevier Science Ltd.