The effects of microstructure on interface characterization

The growth morphology of metal layers on semiconductors is discussed in terms of its influence on photoelectron spectra. Examples are given for nucleated growth of non-interacting metal-semiconductor systems, for which the stabilization of the surface potential may be delayed to coverages exceeding many monolayers. For strongly interacting systems the need for careful lineshape analysis is shown to be essential for the correct chemical and electronic characterization of the developing interface.