A novel nonpolar structure of 2 monolayer (ML) thick ZnO(0001) films grown on Ag(111) has been revealed, using surface x-ray diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy. Zn and O atoms are arranged in planar sheets like in the hexagonal boron-nitride prototype structure. The observed depolarization is accompanied by a significant lateral 1.6% expansion of the lattice parameter and a 3% reduced Zn-O bond length within the sheets. The nonpolar structure stabilizes an atomically flat surface morphology unseen for ZnO surfaces thus far. The transition to the bulk wurtzite structure occurs in the 3-4 ML coverage range, connected to considerable roughening.

We present a spin resolving "momentum microscope" for the high resolution imaging of the momentum distribution of photoelectrons. Measurements of the band structure of a Au(111) single crystal surface demonstrate an energy resolution of ΔE=12 meV and a momentum resolution of Δk∥=0.0049 Å(-1), measured at the line-width of the spin-orbit split Shockley surface state. The relative accuracy of the k∥ measurement in the order of 10(-4) Å(-1) reveals a deviation from the ideal two-dimensional free electron gas model of the Shockley surface state, manifested in a threefold radial symmetry. Spin resolution in the full momentum image is obtained by an imaging spin-filter based on low-energy electron diffraction at a Au passivated Ir(100) single crystal. Using working points at 10.5 eV and 11.5 eV scattering energy with a completely reversed asymmetry of ±60% we demonstrate the efficient mapping of the spin texture of the Au(111) surface state.

Time-resolved photoemission with ultrafast pump and probe pulses is an emerging technique with wide application potential. Real-time recording of nonequilibrium electronic processes, transient states in chemical reactions, or the interplay of electronic and structural dynamics offers fascinating opportunities for future research. Combining valence-band and core-level spectroscopy with photoelectron diffraction for electronic, chemical, and structural analyses requires few 10 fs soft X-ray pulses with some 10 meV spectral resolution, which are currently available at high repetition rate free-electron lasers. We have constructed and optimized a versatile setup commissioned at FLASH/PG2 that combines free-electron laser capabilities together with a multidimensional recording scheme for photoemission studies. We use a full-field imaging momentum microscope with time-of-flight energy recording as the detector for mapping of 3D band structures in (kx, ky, E) parameter space with unprecedented efficiency. Our instrument can image full surface Brillouin zones with up to 7 Å−1 diameter in a binding-energy range of several eV, resolving about 2.5 × 105 data voxels simultaneously. Using the ultrafast excited state dynamics in the van der Waals semiconductor WSe2 measured at photon energies of 36.5 eV and 109.5 eV, we demonstrate an experimental energy resolution of 130 meV, a momentum resolution of 0.06 Å−1, and a system response function of 150 fs.

We report on an imaging spin-filter for electrons. The specular reflection of low-energy electrons at the surface of a tungsten single crystal is used to project a spin-filtered two-dimensional image onto a position sensitive detector. Spin-filtering is based on the spin-dependent reflectivity of electrons due to spin-orbit coupling in the scattering target, while a two-dimensional field of view, encoded in the angle of incidence, is conserved in the outgoing beam. We characterize the efficiency of the spin-filter by recording photoelectron emission microscopy images of the magnetic domain structure of 8 monolayers cobalt grown on copper (100).