Thickness-dependent interference structure in the 0—15-eV electron transmission spectra of rare-gas films

Abstract

We report electron transmission spectra for thin films of Ar, Kr, and Xe physisorbed on platinum. The curves show characteristic features related to the number of monolayers in the film. These structures are interpreted in terms of interference effects due to the reflectivity at the vacuum-film and film-substrate interfaces. Evidence of layer-by-layer physisorption on Pt suggests the use of this kind of experiment to study complete and incomplete wetting of substrates.