X-ray photoemission study of the temperature-dependent CuO formation on Cu(410) using an energetic O molecular beam

Okada, Michio*; Vattuone, L.*; Moritani, Kosuke*; Savio, L.*; Teraoka, Yuden; Kasai, Toshio*; Rocca, M.*

We studied the oxidation of Cu(410) using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy performed with synchrotron radiation. We demonstrate that a hyperthermal O molecular beam is an efficient tool to fabricate Cu oxide thin films at room temperature (RT) and even lower temperatures. At RT, mainly CuO forms. At around 100 K, CuO nucleation also takes place; this is noteworthy, since this moiety is usually produced only at much higher and ambient pressure.