Monte Carlo simulation of photoelectron angular distribution

A practical simulation method has been performed for studies,of the influence of surface excitations on the angular distributions of photoelectron peak intensities. The surface effects have been incorporated into simulations by using the surface excitation parameters (SEPs) which have been calculated with the extended Drude dielectric function. Also, elastic scattering cross sections are calculated using the finite difference method for a Hartree-Fock-Wigner-Seitz potential in the Dirac equation to take into account the solid-state effect. Results of Monte Carlo simulations reveal that surface effects lead to a reduction of the intensities at small detection angles and a sharp decrease at large angles since the surface excitation is most probable for glancing electrons. The calculated results taking into account surface effects are in better agreement with the experimental data. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.