Bridging classical and quantum interpretation of chemical state analysis by XPS/HAXPES to resolve short-range order in amorphous alumina films

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Gramatte, Simon, Wang, Xing, Bertrán, Michael Alejandro Hernández, Cancellieri, Claudia, Pizzi, Giovanni, Prezzi, Deborah, Timrov, Iurii, Politano, Olivier, Utke, Ivo, Jeurgens, Lars P. H., Turlo, Vladyslav
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Gramatte, Simon
Wang, Xing
Bertrán, Michael Alejandro Hernández
Cancellieri, Claudia
Pizzi, Giovanni
Prezzi, Deborah
Timrov, Iurii
Politano, Olivier
Utke, Ivo
Jeurgens, Lars P. H.
Turlo, Vladyslav
author_facet Gramatte, Simon
Wang, Xing
Bertrán, Michael Alejandro Hernández
Cancellieri, Claudia
Pizzi, Giovanni
Prezzi, Deborah
Timrov, Iurii
Politano, Olivier
Utke, Ivo
Jeurgens, Lars P. H.
Turlo, Vladyslav
contents Probing the local structure and chemistry of wide-bandgap amorphous oxide thin films remains challenging due to the limitations of lab-based spectroscopy. This work integrates X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HAXPES), molecular dynamics simulations using machine-learning interatomic potentials, density-functional theory (DFT) calculations, and classical electrostatic modeling of final-state core-ionization effects in Al atoms to uncover the structure and chemistry of amorphous alumina polymorphs made with atomic layer deposition (ALD). DFT calculations using the Delta Kohn-Sham method supported the interpretation of final-state effects and validated electrostatic model assumptions. Shifts in the measured Auger parameter were interpreted as extra-atomic relaxation energies, revealing sensitivity to the local coordination environment. Structural disorder and thermal fluctuations were found to govern the distribution of extra-atomic relaxation energies, suggesting that cryo-XPS can isolate and reveal intrinsic structural building blocks of amorphous oxides. Simulated heating and annealing demonstrated that Auger parameter shifts can serve as indicators of phase decomposition in H-supersaturated ALD amorphous alumina. These findings provide a pathway for comprehensive interpretation and predictive modeling of XPS spectra in amorphous wide-bandgap oxides.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2408_08255
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Bridging classical and quantum interpretation of chemical state analysis by XPS/HAXPES to resolve short-range order in amorphous alumina films
Gramatte, Simon
Wang, Xing
Bertrán, Michael Alejandro Hernández
Cancellieri, Claudia
Pizzi, Giovanni
Prezzi, Deborah
Timrov, Iurii
Politano, Olivier
Utke, Ivo
Jeurgens, Lars P. H.
Turlo, Vladyslav
Materials Science
Chemical Physics
Computational Physics
Probing the local structure and chemistry of wide-bandgap amorphous oxide thin films remains challenging due to the limitations of lab-based spectroscopy. This work integrates X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HAXPES), molecular dynamics simulations using machine-learning interatomic potentials, density-functional theory (DFT) calculations, and classical electrostatic modeling of final-state core-ionization effects in Al atoms to uncover the structure and chemistry of amorphous alumina polymorphs made with atomic layer deposition (ALD). DFT calculations using the Delta Kohn-Sham method supported the interpretation of final-state effects and validated electrostatic model assumptions. Shifts in the measured Auger parameter were interpreted as extra-atomic relaxation energies, revealing sensitivity to the local coordination environment. Structural disorder and thermal fluctuations were found to govern the distribution of extra-atomic relaxation energies, suggesting that cryo-XPS can isolate and reveal intrinsic structural building blocks of amorphous oxides. Simulated heating and annealing demonstrated that Auger parameter shifts can serve as indicators of phase decomposition in H-supersaturated ALD amorphous alumina. These findings provide a pathway for comprehensive interpretation and predictive modeling of XPS spectra in amorphous wide-bandgap oxides.
title Bridging classical and quantum interpretation of chemical state analysis by XPS/HAXPES to resolve short-range order in amorphous alumina films
topic Materials Science
Chemical Physics
Computational Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.08255