In the course of 1998, the Spectromicroscopy beamline at ELETTRA completed
commissioning and succeeded in performing its first test experiments. The b
eamline is designed to perform photoemission experiments with high spatial
resolution, which is obtained by focusing the radiation in a small spot on
the sample by means of a multilayer-coated Schwarzschild Objective. Three o
bjectives are currently available; these operate at photon energies of 74,
95, and 110 eV. A review is presented of the performances achieved together
with an outlook on the future upgrades of the microscope. The smallest ach
ievable spot size is currently 0.5 mu m. At present, the limit to the spati
al resolution is due to aberrations caused by figure errors of the objectiv
e. Typical counting rates in photoemission spectra, for example, on the Au
5d peak, are of the order of 10(4)-10(5) counts per second with an energy r
esolution of the order of 100-200 meV. Among the first experiments in which
p- and n-type GaAs layers of 0.25 mu m thickness were imaged. (C) 2000 Ame
rican Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(00)04001-6].