PHY420 Electron Spectroscopy

This course provides an introduction to modern tools for studying the electronic structure of matter. A clear emphasis will be given to applications of electron spectroscopy such as XPS, ARPES and various electron diffraction methods. We will discuss in detail how electronic degrees of freedom such as binding energy, momentum and spin can be probed, and how such methods can be used in time-resolved experiments to study the dynamics of primary excitations, phase transitions and chemical reactions.

The course will be quite balanced between theory and application. Some basic theoretical background about light-matter interaction as well as electronic structure will be provided. The focus is clearly on applications in solid state physics such as chemical analysis of solid surfaces, the determination of atomic surface structure, electronic bandstructure and low-energy excitations, and the measurement of dynamics on ultra-short time scales. We will also discuss basic aspects of atomic and molecular spectroscopy.

The course consists of two hours of lecture per week and one hour of exercises and short talks. Previous knowledge of solid state physics (PHY210 - Festkörperphysik) and basic quantum mechanics (PHY131 - Physik III) is required.

Lecture notes & exercises (password required)

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