Surface structure determination of a two dimensional Au-Si-alloy formed on Au(110) by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and x-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD)

The metal-semiconductor interface has caused multiple interest in solid state physics especially in methods of metal silicides for various applications, for instance photonic and electronic devices.^[1]
A detailed structural as well as chemical investigation was performed by means of low energy electron diffraction (LEED), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and x-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD). High-resolution core-level-spectra of Au4f and Si2p reveal multiple chemically shifted components. Both Au4f and Si2p XPD-patterns were simulated with the EDAC^[2] and MSPHD^[3] packages, respectively, and compared with the measured pattern by a genetic algorithm reaching R-factors around 0.1. Therefore, we propose a surface-structure model for the Au-Si-alloy based on our measurements and simulations. The results are set in the context of an previously proposed surface-structure of the Au-Si-alloy via LEED, STM, and DFT by Enriquez et al.^[4] .
1. M.J.S. Spencer, et al. Springer 235, 103-105. (2016)
2. R. Gunella, et al. Comp. Phys. Comm. 132 (3), 251–266. (2000)
3. F.J.G. de Abajo, et al. Phys. Rev. B. 63, 1–16. (2001)
4. H. Enriquez, et al. Appl. Phys. Lett., 101, 1–6. (2012)