Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy: A few recent applications

Highlights: ► We discuss recent applications of HAXPES carried out at BL29XU in SPring-8. ► We provide a brief description of the salient features of the instrument. ► The recoil effect of photoelectrons in core levels and valence band are discussed. ► We overview HAXPES studies of a series of 3d transition metal compounds. ► The extended cluster model for explaining well-screened feature is presented. -- Abstract: In this report, we discuss a few recent applications of hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) carried out at the RIKEN beamline BL29XU in SPring-8. We first provide a brief description of the salient features of the instrument in operation at BL29 XU in SPring-8. HAXPES studies on the recoil effect of photoelectrons in core levels and valence band states are presented. The experiments show remarkable consistency with theoretical results and indicate the role of phonon excitations in the recoil effect of photoelectrons. We then overview HAXPES applied to the study of a series of 3d transition metal (TM) compounds. The HAXPES experimental results often show an additional well-screened feature in bulk sensitive electronic structure of strongly correlated compounds compared to surface sensitive spectra. The extended cluster model developed by us for explaining this well-screened feature is validated for a series of TM compounds. These results show that HAXPES is a valuable tool for the study of doping and temperature dependent electronic structure of solids with tremendous potential for future activities