PHY420 Electron Spectroscopy

This course provides an introduction to modern tools for the study of condensed matter properties that are based on electron spectroscopy. Due to the strong interaction of electrons with matter, penetration depths are short, which renders these methods inherently surface sensitive. We will discuss several variants of electron spectroscopy and show in detail how structural, chemical, electronic and magnetic properties can be extracted from such data, 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 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 or short talks. Previous knowledge of solid state physics (PHY210 - Festkörperphysik) and basic quantum mechanics (PHY131 - Physik III) is required.

ECTS: 6 credit points.

Lecture notes & exercises (password required)