Electronic Structure And Symmetry Of Valence States Of Epitaxial Nitisn And Nizr0.5hf0.5sn Thin Films By Hard X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

The electronic band structure of thin films and superlattices made of Heusler compounds with NiTiSn and NiZr0.5Hf0.5Sn composition was studied by means of polarization dependent hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The linear dichroism allowed to distinguish the symmetry of the valence states of the different types of layered structures. The films exhibit a larger amount of "in-gap" states compared to bulk samples. It is shown that the films and superlattices grown with NiTiSn as starting layer exhibit an electronic structure close to bulk materials. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3665621]