Surface structural analysis of monolayer films composed of light elements by x‐ray photoelectron diffraction

Abstract For surface structural analysis on monolayer films composed of light elements, we investigated theoretical x‐ray photoelectron diffraction (XPED) patterns from single‐molecule adsorbing surfaces by using both Cr Lα (572.8 eV) and Al Kα (1486.6 eV) excitations. Forward‐scattering peaks and Kikuchi‐like bands were clearly observed in the pattern excited by Al Kα. In contrast, the features of the XPED patterns excited by Cr Lα were more diffuse. However, the circular patterns excited by Cr Lα are clearer than those excited by Al Kα. This result suggests that the use of a lower energy x‐ray source improves XPED structural analysis on ultrathin films composed of light elements. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.