Electron energy loss and x-ray photoemission study of electron inelastic scattering in cadmium arachidate Langmuir Blodgett films

The inelastic scattering of electrons in Langmuir-Blodgett films of cadmium arachidate [(C₁₉H₃₉COO)₂Cd] deposited on glass substrates has been studied by reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy (REELS) and by monitoring the loss features of the C 1s and O 1s core levels by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). REELS studies with a primary beam of energy 95 eV revealed some vibrational modes of the cadmium arachidate molecules and features due to transition of valence electrons to the conduction band. Similar structures were also identified in the C 1s and O 1s loss spectra and interpreted as reflecting the density of states of the conduction band, in agreement with earlier findings using secondary electron emission spectroscopy. In contrast to the monolayer film, the 5 ML film showed reduced order as inferred from the lack of features in the loss spectra.