Valence band behaviour of zirconium oxide, Photoelectron and Auger spectroscopy study

In this study X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy were combined to investigate the effect of oxygen incorporation on the valence band behaviour of ZrO(x). The Auger transitions involving valence bands are found to mimic the self-folded density of state measured using Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy. The valence band once constructed in a sub-oxide form, stays at a fixed energy position despite the change in the stoichiometry. This behaviour is found to be useful in setting a reference for X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy charge correction. The results of the charged corrected spectra were compared to other methods and found to be in great agreement. Finally, a correlation between the core-level binding energy and the structural property of ZrO(x) is given.