Photoemission intensity oscillations from quantum-well states in the Ag/V(100) overlayer system

Extensive measurements have been made of the photoemission intensities recorded along the surface normal from quantum-well (QW) states of pseudomorphic Ag layers on V(100) in thicknesses from 1-7 ML as a function of photon energy in the range 15-45 eV. In all cases the QW states lead to intense peaks in the photoemission spectra which show strong oscillations in intensity with photon energy, the energy period of the oscillations becoming shorter as the films become thicker. These effects are explained in terms of interference of surface and interfaces photoemission from the sharp changes in potential at the well boundaries, and a semiquantitative description is achieved via calculations based oil a simple asymmetric square-well description in the Adawi formulation of surface photoemission. An alternative picture in which intensity peaks are predicted to correspond to the conditions for direct transitions from bulk states of the overlayer material at the same initial-state energy is shown to be in direct contradiction with some of our observations. The reason for this failure, and the relationship of alternative views of the physical processes, are discussed. [S0163-1829(99)00207-6].