De nombreuses propriétés étonnantes ont été récemment découvertes à l’interface de deux perovskites isolantes l’une polaire l’autre non polaire. La discontinuité de charge à l’interface LaAlO3/SrTiO3 engendre un gas d’électron quasi-bidimensionnel qui confère un caractère métallique à cette interface. Les mécanismes locaux et la quantification des propriétés ne font pas consensus car l’interdépendance de facteurs structuraux, chimiques et électroniques complexifie la résolution du problème posé. Une catastrophe polaire, des distorsions structurales, des lacunes d’oxygène, une interdiffusion cationique et une non stœchiométrie du film ont été séparément avancées pour expliquer cette conduction. Dans le cadre d’un programme international, nous avons reçu des héterointerfaces conductrices et isolantes élaborées par ablation laser pulsé (PLD). L’origine des porteurs de charge a été recherchée par une approche globale liant procédé, structure et propriétés électriques (mesurées dans le consortium). Nous avons systématiquement analysé les interfaces en combinant imagerie à haute résolution (STEM-HAADF) et spectroscopies électroniques (EELS) et ioniques (MEIS). Une non planéité des couches atomiques, une interdiffusion cationique et un transfert d’électrons permettent de réduire la divergence de potentiel, la catastrophe polaire n’a donc pas lieu. La formation de défauts donneurs à la surface du film devient favorable au-delà d’une épaisseur critique. Les électrons sont transférés à l’interface dans la bande de conduction du STO. Nous avons mis en évidence un mécanisme de compensation concurrentiel de la charge interfaciale par des lacunes de strontium chargées négativement, qui mettent le substrat en compression plane et s’opposent au confinement 2D électrons. La variation des paramètres procédés, tels que la durée du dépôt, la pression partielle en oxygène, la température et la stœchiométrie de la plume déplace l’équilibre des différents mécanismes mis en évidence. Ce travail démontre la relation complexe liant procédé, propriétés électriques et distribution des défauts autour de ces interfaces singulières. / Novel behavior at the interface between two insulating polar/non polar perovskites has been recently discovered. The polarization discontinuity at LaAlO3/SrTiO3 drives the formation of quasi two dimensional electron gas. Both the local mechanism and quantification of such behavior remain unclear due to interplay of structural, chemical and electronic factors. Several mechanisms have been proposed, such as the polar catastrophe, structural distortions, oxygen vacancies, cationic intermixing at the interface and film non-stoichiometry. In the frame of an international project conductive and insulating heterostrucutres have been synthetized by Pulsed-Laser Deposition. In this thesis, we have developed a comprehensive approach to investigate the origin of the charge carriers. The interfaces have been systematically analyzed by combining high resolution imaging (STEM-HAADF) to atomic resolved electron (EELS) and ion (MEIS) spectroscopies. The observed and quantified parameters have been related to the electrical properties of the interfaces measured in the consortium. Buckling of the atomic layers, intermixing and electron transfer reduce the polar divergence. This rules out the polar catastrophe scenario. The formation of donor defects at the film surface is favored above a critical film thickness. Electrons are transferred to interface in the STO conduction band. A competing compensation mechanism of the positive interfacial charge by negatively charged strontium vacancies has been demonstrated that generates an in plane compression of the STO, unfavorable for a strict 2D confinement of the charges. Varying the process parameters such as growth duration, oxygen partial pressure, temperature, and plume stoichiometry shift the equilibrium of the different mechanisms highlighted. This thesis emphasizes the complex relations between the process and the properties through the defects distribution around these singular interfaces.

Neste trabalho, apresentamos estudos de magnetotransporte em um sistema quase tridimensional de elétrons produzido em amostras contendo poços quânticos parabólicos (PQW, Parabolic Quantum Well ) formados em heteroestruturas de AlGaAs crescidos sobre substratos de GaAs pela técnica de epitaxia por feixe molecular (MBE). Na primeira parte do nosso trabalho realizamos medidas de magnetoresistência, efeito Hall e efeito Shubnikov-de Haas em PQWs com larguras de 1000 Å a fim de investigar as propriedades eletronicas tais como a concentração e a mobilidade dos elétrons nas amostras. Através de cálculos autoconsistentes determinou-se os perfis de potencial, os níveis de energia e as concentrações de cada uma das sub-bandas ocupadas no poço. Uma análise através da transformada de Fourier também permitiu determinar as concentrações eletrônicas nas sub-bandas. Em uma segunda parte estudou-se a influência da aplicação de potenciais externos através de uma porta metálica com barreira em uma amostra contendo um PQW de largura 3000 Å na presença de campos magnéticos perpendicular e paralelo à superfície da amostra. Encontrou-se que para uma tensão de porta de Vg = 0, 55V forma-se uma barreira de potencial ainda sem ter depleção de cargas no poço. Apresenta-se a idealização do dispositivo transistor válvula de spin, a partir do fato que aplicando uma tensão de porta é possível deslocar espacialmente os elétrons e mudar a sua orientaçãp de spin. / Results from magnetic transport studies made on quasi-three-dimensional electron systems are presented in this work. AlGaAs heterostructures grown on GaAs subtrates through molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) enable the existence of this type of systems by means of parabolic quantum wells (PQW) formation. This work was developed in two main parts. First, we studied magnetoresistence phenomena, such as Hall effect and Shubnikov-de Haas, on 1000 Å width PQWs. This permits to know the electronic concentration and mobility values of this type of samples, among other electrical properties. Then, self-consistent calculations gave an outline of the size and shape of the potentials, and gave the values for the energy levels and the electronic concentration on each occupied sub-band of the quantum well. Through Fourier transform analysis was also possible to obtain and confirm the electronic concentrations of the occupied sub-bands. In the second part of the work, we studied the effects of applying an external potential through a barrier gate to a 3000 Å width PQW sample in the presence of magnetic fields parallel and perpendicular to the sample surface. For a V g = 0, 55 V gate voltage, it was found that a potential barrier was formed even without charge depletion in the well. An idealization for the spin valve transistor device, based on the fact that applying a gate potential spatially dislocates the electrons and changes their spin orientation, is presented.

The phenomenon of energy loss that occurs when an ion interacts with matter, also called stopping power, has been investigated for more than a century, and has provided findings of interest. However, reliable procedures for obtaining accurate experimental measurements and a fully theoretical comprehension of the process are tasks still in high demand by the scientific community. Moreover, stopping power data are prerequisites in several applications in modern science, such as engineering, ion implantation and modification of materials, damage to electronics devices (e.g. space radiation), medical physics (e.g. proton therapy), among others. In this thesis we i) develop a rigorous experimental protocol to measure stopping power with high precision, and ii) investigate the collapse of the free electron gas (FEG) model in energy loss of light ions (protons) at a low energy range in transition and rare-earth metals. In the first part, we present an approach to obtain, with high accuracy, the stopping cross sections in the pure materials Al and Mo for protons in the energy range of [0.9 - 3.6] MeV by means of the transmission method. The traceability of the sources of uncertainties are fully evaluated and the final accuracy of the results is 0.63% (0.32% rand. and 0.54% syst.) for Al, and 1.5 % (0.44 % rand. and 1.4% syst.) for Mo, with both results primarily limited by the quality and homogeneity of the stopping foils. For Al, this high accuracy represents an improvement compared to the results obtained in previous studies and serves as a benchmark for our procedure. The most important sources of uncertainties were random - the uncertainty in the peak positions and in the Gaussian fits; and systematic - the non-uniformity thickness of the foils (a special procedure was developed to correct this). Even though the final uncertainty for Mo is higher than for Al, our results improve on the amount of data currently available for the energy range considered. Both data sets are compared with the most commonly employed theoretical models and Monte Carlo codes in the literature. In the second part, electronic stopping cross sections of nontrivial solids, that is, transition and rare earth metals (Ta and Gd) for slow protons are experimentally investigated, and the data were compared with the results for Pt and Au, to understand how energy losses in these metals are correlated with electronic band structures, and to understand the failure of the FEG model predictions. The higher stopping powers found for Ta and Gd cannot be explained by means of the FEG model; however, these effects are successfully correlated with the high density of states (DOS) of both the occupied and unoccupied electronic levels in these metals. For the case of Gd, the experimental data are extended in the energy range until the Bragg\'s peak is reached. The two parts of this thesis were published in Physical Review A 93 022704 (2016), and in Physical Review Letters 18 103401 (2017), respectively. / O fenômeno de perda de energia quando um íon interage com a matéria, também conhecido como poder de freamento, vem sendo investigado por mais de um século, gerando grandes descobertas. Entretanto, conseguir obter medidas experimentais com alta precisão, ou elaborar um completo entendimento teórico dos processos de perda de energia são tarefas extremamente difíceis e ainda muito requeridas pela comunidade científica. Além disso, dados de perda de energia são pré-requisitos em várias aplicações e ramos da ciência moderna, tais como: engenharia, implantação e modificação de materiais, danos em dispositivos eletrônicos (radiação espacial), física médica (próton terapia), etc. Esta tese tem dois focos: i) desenvolver um rigoroso protocolo experimental para medir stopping power com alta precisão e ii) investigar a quebra de validade do modelo de Gás de Elétrons Livres (FEG) para a perda de energia de prótons lentos em metais de transição e terra raras. Na primeira parte apresentamos uma abordagem experimental para obter com alta precisão o poder de freamento em materiais puros (Al e Mo) para prótons no intervalo de energia de [0,9 - 3,6] MeV pelo método de transmissão. A rastreabilidade das fontes de incerteza foi determinada e as incertezas finais encontradas foram: 0,63 % (0,32 % aleat. e 0,54 % sist.) para Al e 1,5 % (0,44 % aleat. e 1,4 % sist.) para Mo, ambas devido a qualidade e homogeneidade das folhas freadoras. Para Al, esta acurácia representa um avanço comparado com publicações anteriores e, assim, serviu como uma referência de nosso procedimento. As mais importantes fontes de incerteza foram: aleatória incerteza das posições dos picos e dos ajustes Gaussianos e sistemática não-uniformidade das folhas-alvo (um procedimento foi desenvolvido para corrigir isso). Embora a incerteza final do Mo é um pouco maior do que do Al, nossos resultados ajudaram a complementar a baixa quantidade de dados disponíveis para o intervalo de energia considerado. Ambos conjuntos de dados foram comparados com os mais comuns modelos teóricos e códigos de Monte Carlo na literatura. Para a segunda parte, poder de freamento em metais não tão comuns tais como transição (Ta) e terras-raras (Gd) para prótons com baixas velocidades foram experimentalmente investigados, e os dados comparados com resultados de Pt e Au, a fim de entender como o stopping power destes metais está correlacionado com as estruturas de bandas eletrônicas, e assim tentar explicar a falha do modelo de FEG. Os altos valores das perdas de energias encontradas para Ta e Gd não puderam ser explicadas pelo modelo de FEG, e portanto foram correlacionados com a densidade de estados (DOS) em ambos os níveis ocupados e não ocupados destes metais. Para o caso do Gd, os dados experimentais foram estendidos em um intervalo de energia até alcançarem o pico de Bragg. A primeira parte desta tese foi publicada na Physical Review A 93 022704 (2016), e a segunda parte na Physical Review Letters 18 103401 (2017).

Neste trabalho, apresentamos estudos de magnetotransporte em um sistema quase tridimensional de elétrons produzido em amostras contendo poços quânticos parabólicos (PQW, Parabolic Quantum Well ) formados em heteroestruturas de AlGaAs crescidos sobre substratos de GaAs pela técnica de epitaxia por feixe molecular (MBE). Na primeira parte do nosso trabalho realizamos medidas de magnetoresistência, efeito Hall e efeito Shubnikov-de Haas em PQWs com larguras de 1000 Å a fim de investigar as propriedades eletronicas tais como a concentração e a mobilidade dos elétrons nas amostras. Através de cálculos autoconsistentes determinou-se os perfis de potencial, os níveis de energia e as concentrações de cada uma das sub-bandas ocupadas no poço. Uma análise através da transformada de Fourier também permitiu determinar as concentrações eletrônicas nas sub-bandas. Em uma segunda parte estudou-se a influência da aplicação de potenciais externos através de uma porta metálica com barreira em uma amostra contendo um PQW de largura 3000 Å na presença de campos magnéticos perpendicular e paralelo à superfície da amostra. Encontrou-se que para uma tensão de porta de Vg = 0, 55V forma-se uma barreira de potencial ainda sem ter depleção de cargas no poço. Apresenta-se a idealização do dispositivo transistor válvula de spin, a partir do fato que aplicando uma tensão de porta é possível deslocar espacialmente os elétrons e mudar a sua orientaçãp de spin. / Results from magnetic transport studies made on quasi-three-dimensional electron systems are presented in this work. AlGaAs heterostructures grown on GaAs subtrates through molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) enable the existence of this type of systems by means of parabolic quantum wells (PQW) formation. This work was developed in two main parts. First, we studied magnetoresistence phenomena, such as Hall effect and Shubnikov-de Haas, on 1000 Å width PQWs. This permits to know the electronic concentration and mobility values of this type of samples, among other electrical properties. Then, self-consistent calculations gave an outline of the size and shape of the potentials, and gave the values for the energy levels and the electronic concentration on each occupied sub-band of the quantum well. Through Fourier transform analysis was also possible to obtain and confirm the electronic concentrations of the occupied sub-bands. In the second part of the work, we studied the effects of applying an external potential through a barrier gate to a 3000 Å width PQW sample in the presence of magnetic fields parallel and perpendicular to the sample surface. For a V g = 0, 55 V gate voltage, it was found that a potential barrier was formed even without charge depletion in the well. An idealization for the spin valve transistor device, based on the fact that applying a gate potential spatially dislocates the electrons and changes their spin orientation, is presented.

An equilibrium multielectron bubble (MEB) in liquid helium is a fascinating object with a spherical two-dimensional electron gas on its surface. After it was first observed a few decades ago, a plethora of physical properties of MEBs, for example, a tunable surface electron density, have been predicted. In this thesis, we will discuss two new methods to create MEBs in liquid helium. Before the discussion, the way to generate a large number of electrons in a low temperature system will be discussed, including thermionic emission and field emission in helium. In the first new method to make MEBs, we used a dome-shaped cell filled with superfluid helium in which an MEB was created and confined at the dome. The lifetime of the MEB was substantially longer than the previously reported observations of MEBs. In the second method, MEBs were extracted from the vapor sheath around an electrically heated tungsten filament submerged in liquid helium, either by a high electric field (up to 15 kV/cm) or by a sudden increase of a negative pressure in liquid helium. High-speed photography was used to capture the MEB's motion. A method to determine the number of electrons was developed by monitoring the oscillations of the MEBs. Finally, an electromagnetic trap was designed to localize the MEBs created using the second method, which was important for future studies of the properties of MEBs. / Physics

The phenomenon of energy loss that occurs when an ion interacts with matter, also called stopping power, has been investigated for more than a century, and has provided findings of interest. However, reliable procedures for obtaining accurate experimental measurements and a fully theoretical comprehension of the process are tasks still in high demand by the scientific community. Moreover, stopping power data are prerequisites in several applications in modern science, such as engineering, ion implantation and modification of materials, damage to electronics devices (e.g. space radiation), medical physics (e.g. proton therapy), among others. In this thesis we i) develop a rigorous experimental protocol to measure stopping power with high precision, and ii) investigate the collapse of the free electron gas (FEG) model in energy loss of light ions (protons) at a low energy range in transition and rare-earth metals. In the first part, we present an approach to obtain, with high accuracy, the stopping cross sections in the pure materials Al and Mo for protons in the energy range of [0.9 - 3.6] MeV by means of the transmission method. The traceability of the sources of uncertainties are fully evaluated and the final accuracy of the results is 0.63% (0.32% rand. and 0.54% syst.) for Al, and 1.5 % (0.44 % rand. and 1.4% syst.) for Mo, with both results primarily limited by the quality and homogeneity of the stopping foils. For Al, this high accuracy represents an improvement compared to the results obtained in previous studies and serves as a benchmark for our procedure. The most important sources of uncertainties were random - the uncertainty in the peak positions and in the Gaussian fits; and systematic - the non-uniformity thickness of the foils (a special procedure was developed to correct this). Even though the final uncertainty for Mo is higher than for Al, our results improve on the amount of data currently available for the energy range considered. Both data sets are compared with the most commonly employed theoretical models and Monte Carlo codes in the literature. In the second part, electronic stopping cross sections of nontrivial solids, that is, transition and rare earth metals (Ta and Gd) for slow protons are experimentally investigated, and the data were compared with the results for Pt and Au, to understand how energy losses in these metals are correlated with electronic band structures, and to understand the failure of the FEG model predictions. The higher stopping powers found for Ta and Gd cannot be explained by means of the FEG model; however, these effects are successfully correlated with the high density of states (DOS) of both the occupied and unoccupied electronic levels in these metals. For the case of Gd, the experimental data are extended in the energy range until the Bragg\'s peak is reached. The two parts of this thesis were published in Physical Review A 93 022704 (2016), and in Physical Review Letters 18 103401 (2017), respectively. / O fenômeno de perda de energia quando um íon interage com a matéria, também conhecido como poder de freamento, vem sendo investigado por mais de um século, gerando grandes descobertas. Entretanto, conseguir obter medidas experimentais com alta precisão, ou elaborar um completo entendimento teórico dos processos de perda de energia são tarefas extremamente difíceis e ainda muito requeridas pela comunidade científica. Além disso, dados de perda de energia são pré-requisitos em várias aplicações e ramos da ciência moderna, tais como: engenharia, implantação e modificação de materiais, danos em dispositivos eletrônicos (radiação espacial), física médica (próton terapia), etc. Esta tese tem dois focos: i) desenvolver um rigoroso protocolo experimental para medir stopping power com alta precisão e ii) investigar a quebra de validade do modelo de Gás de Elétrons Livres (FEG) para a perda de energia de prótons lentos em metais de transição e terra raras. Na primeira parte apresentamos uma abordagem experimental para obter com alta precisão o poder de freamento em materiais puros (Al e Mo) para prótons no intervalo de energia de [0,9 - 3,6] MeV pelo método de transmissão. A rastreabilidade das fontes de incerteza foi determinada e as incertezas finais encontradas foram: 0,63 % (0,32 % aleat. e 0,54 % sist.) para Al e 1,5 % (0,44 % aleat. e 1,4 % sist.) para Mo, ambas devido a qualidade e homogeneidade das folhas freadoras. Para Al, esta acurácia representa um avanço comparado com publicações anteriores e, assim, serviu como uma referência de nosso procedimento. As mais importantes fontes de incerteza foram: aleatória incerteza das posições dos picos e dos ajustes Gaussianos e sistemática não-uniformidade das folhas-alvo (um procedimento foi desenvolvido para corrigir isso). Embora a incerteza final do Mo é um pouco maior do que do Al, nossos resultados ajudaram a complementar a baixa quantidade de dados disponíveis para o intervalo de energia considerado. Ambos conjuntos de dados foram comparados com os mais comuns modelos teóricos e códigos de Monte Carlo na literatura. Para a segunda parte, poder de freamento em metais não tão comuns tais como transição (Ta) e terras-raras (Gd) para prótons com baixas velocidades foram experimentalmente investigados, e os dados comparados com resultados de Pt e Au, a fim de entender como o stopping power destes metais está correlacionado com as estruturas de bandas eletrônicas, e assim tentar explicar a falha do modelo de FEG. Os altos valores das perdas de energias encontradas para Ta e Gd não puderam ser explicadas pelo modelo de FEG, e portanto foram correlacionados com a densidade de estados (DOS) em ambos os níveis ocupados e não ocupados destes metais. Para o caso do Gd, os dados experimentais foram estendidos em um intervalo de energia até alcançarem o pico de Bragg. A primeira parte desta tese foi publicada na Physical Review A 93 022704 (2016), e a segunda parte na Physical Review Letters 18 103401 (2017).

Au cours de cette thèse on étude deux des plus populaires systèmes de nano-échelle, nano fil et points quantiques (quantum dots), dans le cadre d'une approximation basé sur des premiers principes. Afin d'atteindre cet objectif, nous avons utilisé et développé des théories plus sophistiquées qui nous ont permis d'avoir un meilleur aperçu de la façon dont les systèmes se comportent. Un aspect commun qui limite ces deux types de systèmes (nano fil et points quantiques) est la souplesse de contrôler les propriétés électroniques et optiques. Cette accordabilité des propriétés électroniques et optiques les dote d'un grand intérêt technologique, et elle est la raison de sa popularité / In this thesis we studied two of the most popular nano-scale systems, nano-wires and quantum dots, via a first-principles approach. In order to achieve this objective we have used and developed state-of-the-art theories that allowed us to have a greater insight into the the way this systems behave. One common aspect that bounds this two class of systems (nano-wires and quantum dots) is the flexibility to control their electronic and optical properties. This tunability of their electronic and optical properties, endows them of great technological interest, and is the reason behind their popularity

High-mobility two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) which resides at the interface between GaAs and AlGaAs layered semiconductors has been used experimentally and theoretically to study ballistic electron transport. The present project is motivated by recent experiments in magnetic electron focusing. The proposed device consists of two quantum point contacts (QPCs) serving as electron injector and detector which are placed in the same semiconductor GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. This thesis is focused on the theoretical study of electron flow coming from the injector QPC (a short quantum wire) and going into an open two-dimensional (2D) reservoir. The transport is considered for non-interacting electrons at different transmission regimes using the mode-matching technique. The proposed mode-matching technique has been implemented numerically using Matlab software. Electron flow through the quantum wire with rectangular, conical and rounded openings has been studied with and without an applied electric bias. We have found that the geometry of the opening does not play a crucial role for the electron flow propagation while the conical opening allows the electrons to travel longer distances into the 2D reservoir. When electric bias is applied, the electron flow also penetrates farther into the 2D region. The results of this study can be applied in designing magnetic focusing devices.

Multielectron bubbles (MEBs) are micron sized cavities in liquid helium that contain electrons confined within a nanometer thick layer on the inner surface of a bubble. These objects present a rich platform to study the behavior of a two dimensional electron gas (2DES) on a curved surface. Most crucially, the surface electron densities in MEBs can vary over a wide range, making it a suitable candidate for studying classical Wigner crystallization and quantum melting in a single system. So far, there has been only limited experimental study of MEBs, with most of the previous investigation transient in nature. As we discuss in our presentation, we have built a cryogenic system for performing transport and optical measurements of MEBs down to 1.3 K. We have developed a new technique of generating MEBs, and trapping them using two different methods. In the first method, we trapped MEBs using a Paul trap for more than hundreds of milliseconds. This allows the MEBs to be further manipulated with buoyant and electric forces, such as to obtain reliable measurements of their physical properties. As we observe experimentally, the surface charge density of a single MEB can vary by orders of magnitude during the course of one measurement, thereby covering a previously unexplored section of the 2DES phase diagram. In the second method, we trapped MEBs using a dielectric coated metal electrode over many seconds. This also allowed the properties of MEBs to be measured in a non-destructive manner. Since MEBs are charged bubbles, their motion can be controlled by electric fields, which allowed us to measure the drag of MEBs as a function of Reynolds number by analysing the trajectories. Due to the low viscosity and surface tension of helium compared to other liquids, these measurements could be performed at Morton Numbers that have never been explored. We also show that how the shape of a single MEB evolves from spherical to ellipsoidal as their speeds vary. During the course of experiments, we observed number of interesting phenomena, such as coalescence of similarly charged bubbles, as well as their splitting into secondary bubbles at high speeds. Most interestingly, we have imaged their dynamics in the presence of static, as well as oscillating electric fields, which may provide insight into the phase of the electronic system present inside the bubbles.

In this thesis valence changes at interfaces and surfaces of 3d and 4f systems are investigated by X-ray spectroscopy, in particular X-ray photoemission (XPS), X-ray absorption (XAS) and resonant photoemission spectroscopy (ResPES). The first part addresses the electronic properties of the oxides LaAlO3, LaGaO3 and NdGaO3 grown by pulsed laser deposition on TiO2-terminated SrTiO3 single crystals along (001)-direction. These polar/non-polar oxide interfaces share an insulator to metal phase transition as a function of overlayer thickness including the formation of an interfacial two dimensional electron gas. The nature of the charge carriers, their concentration and spatial distribution, and the band alignment near the interface are studied in a comparative manner and evaluated quantitatively. Irrespective of the different overlayer lattice constants and bandgaps, all the heterostructures behave similarly. Rising Ti3+ concentration is monitored by Ti 2p XPS, Ti L-edge XAS and by resonantly enhanced Ti 3d excitations in the vicinity of EF (ResPES) when the layer number n increases. This indicates that the active material is in all cases a near interface SrTiO3 layer of 4nm thickness. Band bending in SrTiO3 occurs but no electric field is detected inside the polar overlayers. Essential aspects of the findings are captured by scenarios where the polar forces are alleviated by surface defect creation or the separation of photon generated electron-hole pairs in addition to the electronic reconstruction at n = 4 unit cells layer thickness. Furthermore, deviations from an abrupt interface are found by soft X-ray photoemission spectroscopy which may affect the interface properties. The surface sensitivity of the measurements has been tuned by varying photon energy and emission angle. In contrast to the core levels of the other elements, the Sr 3d line shows an unexpected splitting for higher surface sensitivity, signaling the presence of a second strontium component. From a quantitative analysis it is concluded that during the growth process a small amount of Sr atoms diffuse away from the substrate and segregate at the surface of the heterostructure, possibly forming strontium oxide. In the second part of this thesis the heavy fermion superconductors CeMIn5 (M = Co, Rh, Ir) are investigated by temperature- and angle-dependent XPS. In this material class the subtle interplay between localized Ce 4f and itinerant valence electrons dominate the electronic properties. The Ce 3d core level has a very similar shape for all three materials and is indicative of weak f-hybridization. The spectra are analyzed using a simplified version of the Anderson impurity model, which yields a Ce 4f occupancy that is larger than 0.9. The temperature dependence shows a continuous, irreversible and exclusive broadening of the Ce 3d peaks, due to oxidation of Ce at the surface. / In der vorliegenden Dissertation werden Valenzänderungen an Grenzflächen und Oberflächen mittels Verfahren der Röntgenspektroskopie untersucht, zu denen die Röntgenphotoelektronen- (XPS), die Röntgenabsorptions- (XAS) und die resonante Photoelektronenspektroskopie (ResPES) gehören. Kapitel 3 behandelt die elektronischen Eigenschaften der Oxide LaAlO3, LaGaO3 und NdGaO3, welche mittels Laserdeposition (PLD) auf TiO2-terminierte SrTiO3 Einkristalle entlang (001)-Richtung gewachsen wurden. Diese polaren/nicht-polaren Oxidgrenzflächen weisen einen Isolator-Metall Phasenübergang als Funktion der Schichtdicke auf, bei dem sich ein zwei dimensionales Elektronengas an der Grenzfläche bildet. Die Eigenschaften dieser Ladungsträger, deren Konzentration und räumliche Ausdehnung, sowie der Verlauf der Energiebänder an der Grenzfläche werden vergleichend untersucht und quantitativ bestimmt. Es wird gezeigt, dass sich die drei untersuchten Grenzflächen, trotz unterschiedlicher Gitterkonstanten und Energiebandlücken, ähnlich verhalten. Das mit der Schichtdicke ansteigende Ti3+ Signal wird im Ti 2p XPS, Ti L-Kante XAS und durch die resonant verstärkten Ti 3d Anregungen nahe EF (ResPES) nachgewiesen. Daraus lässt sich schlussfolgern, dass in allen Fällen eine SrTiO3 Schicht mit einer Dicke von 4nm der eigentlich aktive Bereich ist. Im SrTiO3 tritt eine Bandverbiegung auf, ein elektrisches Feld in der polaren Deckschicht kann jedoch nicht nachgewiesen werden. Grundlegende Aspekte dieser Ergebnisse sind in einem Szenario vereinbar, bei dem die polaren Kräfte durch die Entstehung von Oberflächendefekten, durch die Trennung von photoneninduzierten Elektronen-Lochpaaren und durch eine elektronische Umordnung bei 4 uc Schichtdicke eliminiert werden. Des Weiteren werden Abweichungen von einer abrupten Grenzfläche mittels weich-Röntgenphotoelektronenspektroskopie festgestellt, die die Grenzflächeneigenschaften beeinflussen können. Für oberflächenempfindlichere Messbedingungen zeigt die Sr 3d Anregung, im Gegensatz zu Rumpfniveaus anderer Elemente, eine unerwartete Aufspaltung, was nur durch das Vorhandensein einer zweiten chemischen Strontiumkomponente zu erklären ist. Aus quantitativen Betrachtungen lässt sich schließen, dass einige Strontiumatome während des Wachstums an die Oberfläche diffundieren und möglicherweise Strontiumoxid gebildet wird. Der zweite Schwerpunkt der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die Untersuchung von Schwer-Fermionen Supraleitern CeMIn5 (M = Co, Rh, Ir) mittels temperatur- und winkelabhängiger XPS. Bei dieser Materialklasse dominiert das feine Zusammenspiel zwischen lokalisierten Ce 4f und frei beweglichen Leitungselektronen die elektronischen Eigenschaften. Das Ce 3d Rumpfniveauspektrum besitzt für die drei Materialien eine sehr ähnliche Form, die auf eine schwache f-Hybridisierung schließen lässt. Die Spektren werden mittels einer vereinfachten Version des Anderson-Impurity Modells analysiert, wobei sich eine Ce 4f Besetzung von mehr als 0,9 ergibt. Die Temperaturabhängigkeit zeigt eine kontinuierliche und irreversible Verbreiterung ausschließlich für die Ce 3d Anregung, dieser Umstand kann einer Oxidation der reaktiven Ceratome an der Oberfläche zugeordnet werden.