Low-temperature oxidation of alkali overlayers: Ionic species and reaction kinetics

Clean and oxidized alkali metal films have been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Thin films, typically 10 nm thick, of lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium and cesium have been deposited on silicon substrates and oxidized at 120 K. Plasmon losses were found to dress the primary photo emission structures of the metals' core lines which confirms the metallic, bulk like nature of the films. The emission from the O 1s core levels was used to determine the chemical composition and the reaction kinetics during the exposure to molecular oxygen at low pressures. Molecular oxide ions O2− and O22− as well as atomic oxygen ions O2− were detected in varying amounts depending on the alkali metal used. Diffusive transport of material in the film is shown to greatly determine the composition of the oxides. Especially, the growth of potassium superoxide is explained by the diffusion of potassium atoms to the surface and growth at the surface in a Deal–Grove like model.