Derivation of the near-surface dielectric function of amorphous silicon from photoelectron loss spectra

The near-surface dielectric function ε(ℏω) of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films has been derived from X-ray photoelectron energy-loss spectra, over the energy range 0–40 eV. Removal of low lying single-electron excitations is a prerequisite step to proceed to the derivation of the single plasmon energy loss function Im[− 1/ε(ℏω)] due to collective electron oscillations. Several methods are compared to separate interband transitions from bulk or surface plasmons excitation. The shape of interband excitation loss in the range 1–10 eV can be described by a Henke function; alternatively, its removal using a sigmoid weighting function is a low-noise and reliable method. After deconvolution of multiple plasmon losses and self-consistent elimination of surface plasmon excitation, the single plasmon loss distribution allows recovery of optical (ellipsometry) data measured in the near-UV to visible range.

► Near-surface dielectric function of a-Si:H derived from photoelectron energy losses is compared with bulk optical data.
► Several methods are compared to separate interband transitions from bulk and surface plasmons excitation.
► Henke function and sigmoid methods provide similar plasmon loss functions; the latter is a low-noise method.