Description of a polarized source of He i radiation for surface studies

Abstract

A polarized radiation source has been designed and built for use in angular-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy on surfaces of single crystals under ultrahigh vacuum. The light from a discharge in helium is polarized by a triple reflection from a series of gold mirrors, producing a plane-polarized beam of He i radiation (21.22 eV) with a polarization of 80%. The plane of polarization can be rotated through more than 180 degrees without breaking vacuum. Details of the construction of the lamps are given, together with how it is integrated into the overall operation of the electron spectrometer. As an illustration of the lamp's potential, data are shown on the photoemission studies of the (110) and (111) faces of copper as a function of both the orientation angle of the crystal and the polarization vector. A brief discussion of the future development and possible uses of the lamp is included.