Open AccessA new EXAFS method for the local structure analysis of low‐Z elements
Author(s) -
Isomura Noritake,
Kamada Masao,
aka Takamasa,
Nakamura Eiken,
Takano Takumi,
Sugiyama Harue,
Kimoto Yasuji
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of synchrotron radiation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.172
H-Index - 99
ISSN - 1600-5775
DOI - 10.1107/s1600577515021165
Subject(s) - extended x ray absorption fine structure , chemistry , crystallography , materials science , chemical physics , physics , absorption spectroscopy , optics
A unique analytical method is proposed for local structure analysis via extended X‐ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. The measurement of electron energy distribution curves at various excitation photon energies using an electron energy analyzer is applied to determine a specific elemental Auger spectrum. To demonstrate the method, the N K ‐edge EXAFS spectra for a silicon nitride film were obtained via simultaneous measurement of the N KLL Auger and background spectra using dual‐energy windows. The background spectrum was then used to remove the photoelectrons and secondary electron mixing in the energy distribution curves. The spectrum obtained following this subtraction procedure represents the `true' N K ‐edge EXAFS spectrum without the other absorptions that are observed in total electron yield N K ‐edge EXAFS spectra. The first nearest‐neighbor distance (N—Si) derived from the extracted N K ‐edge EXAFS oscillation was in good agreement with the value derived from Si K ‐edge analysis. This result confirmed that the present method, referred to as differential electron yield (DEY)‐EXAFS, is valid for deriving local surface structure information for low‐ Z elements.