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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 82: Focus Session: Unoccupied States by Inverse Photoemission III
Donnerstag, 12. März 2026, 10:30–12:30, WILL/A317
The Other Half of the Picture: 50 Years of Direct Access to Unoccupied States by Inverse Photoemission
In 1981, J. Pendry evaluated the experimental access to electron states in solids: "Currently only half of the picture can be seen with photoemission. Inverse photoemission provides the other half." A complete picture of electron states needs both occupied and unoccupied states in order to describe, understand, and finally tailor macroscopic material properties. In 1976, V. Dose had submitted a first paper on Bremsstrahlung Isochromat Spectroscopy in the VUV range: "The physics involved may be most simply described as an inverse photoelectric effect." The first experiments provided surface-sensitive information on the density of unoccupied states. Later, momentum and spin resolution were added to investigate the spin-dependent E(k) dispersion of unoccupied electron states. During five decades, the technique was further developed by several groups worldwide to enhance the intensity and improve the resolution in energy, momentum, and spin. A wealth of information was gained about metals, semiconductors, ultrathin films as well as adsorbate systems. The experimental studies were accompanied by several theoretical approaches, which are able to accurately describe the unoccupied electronic structure and model the inverse photoemission process. In 2012, H. Yoshida extended the energy range to the near-UV range (low-energy inverse photoemission), which is especially suited to study organic samples due to a lower damage risk caused by the exciting electron beam.
Current research fields for inverse photoemission are, e.g., spin textures of exchange- and/or spin-orbit-induced influenced systems and topological insulators, gap structures in transition metal dichalcogenides, LUMO levels in semiconductors for photovoltaic applications, electronic structure of atomic-layer and quantum materials. This focus session will highlight recent advances obtained by inverse photoemission in different fields and material systems. Also, it will bring together researchers from different areas for addressing current trends and future applications of inverse photoemission from experimental as well as theoretical perspective.
Organized by Markus Donath, Fabian Schöttke and Peter Krüger (U Münster).
