	Scottish Centre for Interdisciplinary Surface Spectroscopy

The facilities available at SCISS

If you are interested in using any of our facilities, please contact us.

Our research laboratories are located both at the School of Chemistry and the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews. The list below
provides an overview of our facilities:

Angle Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy (ARPES), more details below
Low Temperature Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (LT-STM), more details below
Low Temperature Atomic Force Microscopy (LT-AFM)
Variable Temperature Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (VT-STM)
Ambient Pressure Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (AP-STM)
X-Ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS)
High-Resolution Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (HREELS)
Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES)
Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED)
Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD)
Reflection Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy (RAIRS)
Ambient Pressure Atomic Force Microscopy (AP-AFM)

More details on two of our state-of-the-art facilities are given below:

Angle Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy (ARPES)

ARPES scheme

Angular resolved photoemission (ARPES) is a uniquely powerful tool for probing electronic quasiparticles. It is virtually the only spectroscopy with direct momentum resolution, a key advantage for the study of anisotropic and low-dimensional materials. ARPES data contain the band structure of a material, and, because the signal is proportional to the single particle spectral function, give detailed information on the propagation of electrons in the full many-body system.

ARPES characteristics
    He Iα (21.2 ev) and He IIα (40.8 eV)
    rotable linear polarization (> 80%)
    energy resolution Δε = 3 ÷ 10 meV routinely
    ± 13° parallel recording
    spot size: 0.5 mm²
    automated k-space mapping

XPS characteristics
    Al Kα(1486.6 eV) monochromatized (Δε < 300 meV)

Sample environment
    ultra-high vacuum (< 5 x 10-11 mbar)
    6 - 450 K
    6 degrees of freedom (3 rotations, 3 translations)

Surface preparation
    automated sputter/anneal (< 1400 K)
    low-energy electron diffraction (LEED)
    evaporators, thickness monitor
    evaporation on < 10 K substrates in "upper chamber"

System setup

SPECS instrument, delivered in June 2008

Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy/Spectroscopy (STM/STS)

STM/STS scheme

Scanning probe microscopies (STM and AFM) are the most exquisite tools to not only investigating the geometric, but also the electronic structure of flat surfaces at the atomic scale. When operated at low temperatures, one can uniquely benefit of electronic spectroscopy (STS) and vibrational spectroscopy (IETS) at the single atom/molecule level. Furthermore, atomic manipulations allow for a tailored design of nano-structures. STM, AFM and their spectroscopy modes have revolutionized our understanding of the physics and chemistry at surfaces.

STM/STS characteristics
    base temperature 5 K
    scan range 1 µm at 6 K, 1.5 µm at 77 K
    max drift rate at 6 K: < 0.2 nm/hour
    residual vibration level: < 2 pm
    easy switch STM/AFM
    system rests on a 14 tonnes concrete block for vibration isolation.

Sample environment
    ultra-high vacuum (< 5 x 10-11 mbar)
    4 degrees of freedom (1 rotations, 3 translations)

Surface preparation
    automated sputter/anneal (< 1400 K)
    metal and molecular evaporators, thickness monitor
    LHe-cooled manipulator (20 - 1400 K)
    low temperature sample transfer to STM
    cleaver for special oxides
    low-energy electron diffrection and Auger spectroscopy (LEED/AES)

System setup

CreaTec instrument, delivered in July 2008