Scienta Omicron HAXPES Lab enables Deep hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (Deep HAXPES) measurements in a standard lab environment. It is a convenient to use turnkey UHV system, which includes a 9.25 keV monochromated Ga liquid MetalJet X-ray source. The HAXPES Lab uses the synchrotron proven EW4000 electron analyser that covers the full kinetic energy range up to 9250 eV. The instrument offers the unique possibility to investigate bulk properties of various materials. Beyond that, the HAXPES-Lab enables analysis of buried interfaces and gives access to deep core levels.
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As part of our CREATE Platform, the HAXPES Lab can be quickly configured to meet your exact requirements and functionality. The proven design framework provides shorter product lead times, complete system testing, and immediate system drawings including installation requirements. Beyond being the leader in HAXPES technology, Scienta Omicron also provides a “Materials Innovation Platform (MIP)”, combining the HAXPES Lab with other techniques including deposition, and additional analysis capabilities with complete UHV transfer.
Intelligently integrated with superior automatization and PEAK software control for data acquisition and MISTRAL for system and vacuum control, the HAXPES Lab delivers the powerful HAXPES technique as an accessible and reliable measurement tool.
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Study Bulk and Interfaces in your Home Laboratory
While HAXPES measurements have been successfully deployed at synchrotrons, obtaining access to the required end stations is a significant challenge. The HAXPES Lab solves this problem and serves as a complete analytical solution by bringing cutting edge Deep HAXPES directly to the user’s laboratory. A monochromated soft X-ray source for XPS and charge neutralisation are available as options. A comparison between multiple lab x-ray sources highlights the information advantage the Ga source provides. Beyond this, the monochromated Ga X-ray source provides higher flux than alternative hard X-ray lab sources resulting in the most efficient acquisition times.
The HAXPES Lab places the user at the forefront of materials research with its novel analytical capabilities. Unprecedented measurements of bulk electrical and chemical properties are now possible. Users can easily execute a chemical analysis of real-world samples and devices without the need for destructive and artifact inducing surface preparation steps such as sputtering.
Above is a HAXPES Lab study of a complex oxide transistor stack device. This structure exploits the presence of a 2D electron gas at the interface between the In2O3 and ZnO. With Deep HAXPES, Al 1s peaks are measurable, even if the Al is buried 33 nm deep. Also, the Zr 2p signal from the buried Zr layer in the stack, unmeasurable with standard XPS both from an energy and depth perspective, is also now easily accessible.
Deep HAXPES 50 nm probing depth
The high-intensity, high-energy Ga Kα X-rays from the MetalJet source generate photoelectrons with very high kinetic energy, offering unparalleled depth sensitivity among laboratory hard X-ray systems. As shown in the figure, the bulk silicon peak is detectable through 50 nm of SiO₂, demonstrating that buried layers and interfaces at device-relevant depths are accessible. The HAXPES Lab allows for the extraction of chemical information from deeper layers of the devices than is possible with Al or Cr-based systems, all within efficient time scales.
The high energy of Ga Kα X-rays offers a significantly broader energy range compared to standard Al Kα X-rays, allowing access to deeper core levels and higher photoelectron kinetic energies. This is illustrated by the in the long-range overview scan of a gold sample in Figure above.
The efficiency of the HAXPES Lab system enables high-resolution measurements, with total instrument energy resolution comparable to standard monochromatized XPS instruments. The figure shows the Fermi edge of gold with a total instrument resolution of less than 0.5 eV at a kinetic energy of 9250 eV.
Operando and Bias Applied HAXPES
Deep HAXPES is a powerful tool for probing the chemical and electronic structure of materials in a way that combines high surface sensitivity and bulk probing depth. HAXPES Lab sample holder options allow combining these strengths with operando conditions where temperature, voltage, or other environmental parameters are varied during measurements. Operando HAXPES provides real-time insights into material behavior under working conditions.
Bias-applied HAXPES, for example, allows researchers to monitor how voltage influences electronic properties, enabling the study of energy materials, catalysts, and devices like batteries and transistors as in the example above. Results provide insights in device electronic structure, including band alignment and trap state density in the band gap. Operando studies are essential for understanding how changes in operating conditions affect the device performance and/or properties and stability of advanced materials.
Specifications
EW4000 10keV
Excillum Ga Kα metal jet
9.25 keV
50 μm
250 W
< 0.5 eV
5 x 10-10 mbar
PBN, electron beam, HT
Transmission, angular
PEAK, MISTRAL
Bias, sputtering, heating, glovebox extension, preparation chamber, gas cluster ion beam source, flood source, Al Kα source
Results
Characterization of Buried Interfaces Using Ga Kα Hard X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (HAXPES)
The extension of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to measure layers and interfaces below the uppermost surface requires higher X-ray energies and electron energy analysers capable of measuring higher electron kinetic energies....
Near-Surface Analysis of Magnetron Sputtered AlCrNbYZrNx High Entropy Materials Resolved by HAXPES
Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) was used to perform a non-destructive depth profile of AlCrNbYZrNx (x = 0 to ∼50 at.%) thin films. The outermost native oxide of the pristine thin films contained the highest coordination...
Electron-donating amine-interlayer induced n-type doping of polymer:nonfullerene blends for efficient narrowband near-infrared photo-detection
Inherently narrowband near-infrared organic photodetectors are highly desired for many applications, including biological imaging and surveillance. However, they suffer from a low photon-to-charge conversion efficiencies and utilize...
The Role of SnF2 Additive on Interface Formation in All Lead-Free FASnI3 Perovskite Solar Cells
Tin-based perovskites are promising alternative absorber materials for lead-free perovskite solar cells but need strategies to avoid fast tin (Sn) oxidation. Generally, this reaction can be slowed down by the addition of tin fluoride...
Reference Systems
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HAXPES Lab: A Window to the Bulk
Scienta Omicron‘s HAXPES Lab brings hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) capability directly to the local laboratory environment. This novel system probes bulk sample properties and accesses deep core level electrons via photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) without the need for a synchrotron end station. Using world class technology and expert engineering, the HAXPES Lab sets the standard for laboratory based high energy photoelectron spectroscopy.
PEAK Brochure
PEAK is designed to control acquisition of photoelectron spectra with Scienta Omicron analysers. With its modern software architecture, PEAK offers improved performance for data acquisition, workflow, and live visualisation of data. The modular design and the modern network-based application programming interface (API) facilitate integration of additional equipment as well as full integration of the analyser in external control systems.
EW4000 Brochure
The EW4000 electron analyser is a state-of-the-art and widely used electron analyser for HAXPES. It is also one of the key parts is Scienta Omicron’s HAXPES Lab. Expanding the parallel angular detection range to 60° in the full range from UPS via XPS to HAXPES gives great possibilities for high transmission measurements as well as novel Standing Wave and XPD experiments.
