The EIGER detector for low-energy electron microscopy and photoemission electron microscopy.

EIGER is a single-photon-counting hybrid pixel detector developed at the Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland. It is designed for applications at synchrotron light sources with photon energies above 5 keV. Features of EIGER include a small pixel size (75 µm × 75 µm), a high frame rate (up to 23 kHz), a small dead-time between frames (down to 3 µs) and a dynamic range up to 32-bit. In this article, the use of EIGER as a detector for electrons in low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) and photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) is reported. It is demonstrated that, with only a minimal modification to the sensitive part of the detector, EIGER is able to detect electrons emitted or reflected by the sample and accelerated to 8-20 keV. The imaging capabilities are shown to be superior to the standard microchannel plate detector for these types of applications. This is due to the much higher signal-to-noise ratio, better homogeneity and improved dynamic range. In addition, the operation of the EIGER detector is not affected by radiation damage from electrons in the present energy range and guarantees more stable performance over time. To benchmark the detector capabilities, LEEM experiments are performed on selected surfaces and the magnetic and electronic properties of individual iron nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 8 to 22 nm are detected using the PEEM endstation at the Surface/Interface Microscopy (SIM) beamline of the Swiss Light Source.

First experimental proof for aberration correction in XPEEM: resolution, transmission enhancement, and limitation by space charge effects.

The positive effect of double aberration correction in x-ray induced Photoelectron Emission Microscopy (XPEEM) has been successfully demonstrated for both, the lateral resolution and the transmission, using the Au 4f XPS peak for element specific imaging at a kinetic energy of 113 eV. The lateral resolution is improved by a factor of four, compared to a non-corrected system, whereas the transmission is enhanced by a factor of 5 at a moderate resolution of 80 nm. With an optimized system setting, a lateral resolution of 18 nm could be achieved, which is up to now the best value reported for energy filtered XPEEM imaging. However, the absolute resolution does not yet reach the theoretical limit of 2 nm, which is due to space charge limitation. This occurs along the entire optical axis up to the contrast aperture. In XPEEM the pulsed time structure of the exciting soft x-ray light source causes a short and highly intense electron pulse, which results in an image blurring. In contrast, the imaging with elastically reflected electrons in the low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) mode yields a resolution clearly below 5 nm. Technical solutions to reduce the space charge effect in an aberration-corrected spectro-microscope are discussed.

Island shapes and aggregation steered by the geometry of the substrate lattice.

We find that island shapes and aggregation in diindenoperylene deposited on Au(100), Au(110), and Au(111) single crystals are steered by the anisotropy due to the lattice geometry of the substrate. This phenomenon may be exploited as a tool for molecular patterning of surfaces.

Double aberration correction in a low-energy electron microscope.

The lateral resolution of a surface sensitive low-energy electron microscope (LEEM) has been improved below 4 nm for the first time. This breakthrough has only been possible by simultaneously correcting the unavoidable spherical and chromatic aberrations of the lens system. We present an experimental criterion to quantify the aberration correction and to optimize the electron optical system. The obtained lateral resolution of 2.6 nm in LEEM enables the first surface sensitive, electron microscopic observation of the herringbone reconstruction on the Au(111) surface.

Asymmetric photoelectron transmission through chirally-sculpted, polycrystalline gold.

Strong circular dichroism is observed in core-level photoelectron transmission through a chirally-etched polycrystalline Au surface, consistent with a chiral dependence on the electron's orbital angular momentum.