RECENT RESULTS OF CROSS-FERTILIZATION BETWEEN ELECTRON-SPECTROSCOPY AND MAGNETISM

The probing depth in transition metals for low energy electrons of 5-10 eV above the Fermi-energy is much lower than previously assumed. It increases with the number Of unoccupied d-states, that is the early transition metals have the shortest probing depth of, e.g., only one monolayer for threshold electrons in Gd. Spin polarized electron spectroscopy combined with the art of fabricating ultrathin magnetic structures permits accurate measurement of these probing depth and allows detailed verification of die underlying assumptions through measurement of the transport polarization acquired by electrons traversing ferromagnetic material. While the phenomenological meaning of the probing depth is clearly defined by the experimental procedure, meaningful theoretical analysis is not available.