Quantitative analysis of energy loss processes for the core level intensities in hard X-ray photoemission

Hard X-ray Photoemission spectra (HAXPES) for Al films on Si substrates were measured, and thickness dependence of the Al and Si core level spectra was obtained. A quantitative analysis of the plasmon-loss processes and the continuous background was performed. Such loss process can be quantitatively understood using a HAXPES analysis, especially for the intensity analysis of the core levels. Si 1 s electrons excite extrinsic Al plasmons and continuous loss features as far as they propagate within the Al film. The results give us important information and enable us to separate the intrinsic, extrinsic and their interference effects in plasmon-loss processes. Even for the high energy excitation inherent to HAXPES, the interference effect between intrinsic and extrinsic plasmon-losses is shown to be not negligible. A stronger contribution from loss features than from the main peaks should be considered for quantitative analysis.