Theoretical Comparison of the Intensities of Photoelectrons Emitted by x-rays in Multilayer Nanostructures with Different Geometries

Abstract

X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) can be used as a technique to measure thickness of thin layers and thicknesses of multilayers structures with different geometries. In the presentwork, double-layer samples composed of sulfur (S) and silicon oxide (SiO2) with different thicknesses on gold were studied in three different geometries: thin films on gold substrate, compact spherical and compact cylindrical nanoparticles with gold cores. The calculated intensities of the main XPS peaks of the elements (S, O, Si, and Au) were compared for each geometry, allowing layer thicknesses to be determined from the experimental data. The preliminarily XPS data obtained from core-shell nanoparticles with a rather thick shell, in the range of 15-20 nm, are also presented.