Characterisation of structured thin films made from complex materials by photoabsorption spectromicroscopy

Al3 and YBa2Cu3O7/PrBa2Cu3O7. To investigate devices built from these complex materials we applied element-sensitive photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). Information about the chemical composition of the imaged sample can be obtained by PEEM via tuning the photon energy to X-ray absorption edges. To apply spectromicroscopy we acquired microscopic images using photon energies near and at the edges. Such images give the lateral distribution of a specific element. Microspectroscopy is performed by recording the intensity of the true secondary electrons in selected spots during a sweep of the photon energy. The main aim of our work was to observe oxygen-related defects and changes in the c…