A core level spectroscopy study of ice and water is presented in this thesis. Combining a number of experiments and spectrum calculations based on density functional theory, changes in the local valence electronic structure are shown to be sensitive to the local H-bonding configurations. Exploiting this sensitivity, we are able to approach important scientific problems for a number of aggregation states; liquid water, the water-metal interface, bulk and surface of hexagonal ice. For the H-bonded model system hexagonal ice, we have probed the occupied valence electronic structure by x-ray emission and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Stepwise inclusion of different types of interactions within density functional theory, together with a local valence electron population analysis, show that it is essential to include intermolecular charge transfer together with internal s-p rehybridizations in order to describe the changes in electronic structure seen in the experiment. The attractive electrostatic interaction between water molecules is enhanced by a decrease in Pauli repulsion. A simple electrostatic model due to charge induction from the surrounding water is unable to explain the electronic structure changes. By varying the probing depth in x-ray absorption the structure of the bulk, subsurface and surface regions is probed in a thin ice film. A pronounced continuum for fully coordinated species in the bulk is in sharp contrast to the spectrum associated with a broken symmetry at the surface. In particular molecular arrangements of water with one uncoordinated OH group have unoccupied electronic states below the conduction band that are responsible for a strong anisotropic pre-edge intensity in the x-ray absorption spectrum. The topmost layer is dominated by an almost isotropic distribution of these species, which is inconsistent with an unrelaxed surface structure. For liquid water the x-ray absorption spectrum resembles that of the ice surface, indicating a domination of species with broken hydrogen bond configurations. The sensitivity to the local hydrogen bond configuration, in particular the sensitivity to broken bonds on the donor side, allows for a detailed analysis of the liquid water spectrum. Most molecules in liquid water are found in two-hydrogen-bonded configurations with one strong donor and one strong acceptor hydrogen bond. The results, consistent with diffraction data, imply that most molecules are arranged in strongly H-bonded chains or rings embedded in a disordered cluster network. Molecular dynamics simulations are unable to describe the experimental data. The water overlayer on the close-packed platinum surface is studied using a combination of core-level spectroscopy and density functional theory. A new structure for water adsorption on close-packed transition metal surfaces is found, where a weakly corrugated non-dissociated overlayer interacts via alternating oxygen-metal and hydrogen-metal bonds. The latter results from a balance between metal-hydrogen bond formation and OH bond weakening. The ultrashort core-hole lifetime of oxygen provides a powerful probe of excited state dynamics via studies of the non-radiative or radiative decay following x-ray absorption. Electrons excited into the pre-edge state for single donor species at the ice surface remain localized long enough for early time solvation dynamics to occur and these species are suggested as strong pre-existing traps to the hydrated electron. Fully coordinated molecules in the bulk contribute to a strong conduction band with electron transfer times below 0.5 femtoseconds. Upon core-ionization, both protons are found to migrate substantial distances on a femtosecond timescale. This unusually fast proton dynamics for non-resonant excitation is captured both by theory and experiment with a measurable isotope effect.

The main purpose of this Thesis is the experimental characterization of the electronic and geometric structures of objects called clusters. A cluster consists of a finite group of bound atoms or molecules. Due to its finite size, it may present completely different properties than those of the isolated atom and the bulk. The clusters studied in this work are constituted by rare-gas atoms, organic molecules, and metal atoms. Intense cluster beams were created using either an adiabatic expansion source or a gas-aggregation source, and investigated by means of synchrotron radiation based photoelectron spectroscopy. The reports presented in this Thesis may be divided into three parts. The first one deals with results concerning homogeneous molecular clusters (benzene- and methyl-related clusters) highlighting how molecular properties, such as dipole moment and polarizability, influence the cluster structure. The second part focuses on studies of solvation processes in clusters. In particular, the adsorption of polar molecules on rare-gas clusters is studied. It is shown that the doping method, i.e. the technique used to expose clusters to molecules, and the fraction of polar molecules are important factors in determining the location of the molecules in the clusters. Finally, a summary of investigations performed on metal clusters is presented. The applicability of solid state models to analyse the cluster spectra is considered, and the differences between the atomic, cluster and solid electronic structures are discussed.

The wetting behavior of water on methacrylate copolymer films was studied on anodically oxidized and micro-roughened aluminium surfaces and also on smooth model surfaces. The copolymerization of tert-butyl methacrylate with a methacrylate containing a fluoroorganic side chain led to a considerable decrease of the surface free energy, but not to a superhydrophobic behavior of polymer-coated, micro-roughened aluminium surfaces. However, copolymers containing both hydrophobic and hydrophilic sequences are able to form superhydrophobic films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that an enrichment of the interface between the solid phase and the air by fluorine-containing polymer components was the reason for the strong decrease of the surface free energy. The hydrophilic segments of the copolymers improved the ability to wet the highly polar aluminium surface and to form films of higher density.

This thesis reports both the optimizations of the vanadium oxide (VOx) thin film as an active infrared detector material by the magnetron sputtering deposition method and its use during fabrication of proper resistors for the microbolometers. Vanadium oxide is a preferred material for microbolometers, as it provides high TCR value, low noise, and reasonable resistance, and a number of high-tech companies have used this material to obtain state-of-the-art microbolometer arrays. This material is first used in microbolometers by Honeywell, who provides its recipe with license agreements, and there is not much information in the literature for its deposition recipe. This is the first study at METU for development of vanadium oxide thin film for microbolometers. The VOx material deposition studies started by identifying the deposition parameters of the magnetron sputtering system in order to obtain proper VOx resistors for the readout electronics. The obtained recipe includes high temperature deposition conditions of VOx, however, this causes a diffusion problem on the electrodes, preventing to obtain a good contact to VOx. Also, high oxygen level in the depositions makes a contamination on the electrodes. A number of studies were done to determine a proper electrode material which is proper with the deposition conditions of the VOx. Characterization of the vanadium oxide samples is done by XRD and XPS measurements to see the relation between the phases and resistivity of the vanadium oxide. It is known that V2O5 phase provides a high TCR and resistivity value, and the XRD results show that this phase is dominant in the highly-oxygen doped or annealed resistors. The TCR and noise measurements are done using resistors implemented with the developed VOx film, after the etching processes of the both VOx and the electrodes are optimized. The contamination on the electrodes is prevented by the help of a newly designed process. The TCR measurement results show that annealing of the resistors affect the TCR values, i.e., increasing the annealing duration increases the TCR values of the resistors. Two different resistors with different deposition conditions are annealed to see the effect of annealing, where TCR results of the resistors are -0.74%/K and -0.8 %/K before annealing. The TCR values of these resistors increase to -1.6 %/K and -4.35 %K, respectively, after annealing in same conditions, showing that both the deposition conditions and annealing change the TCR significantly. Although good TCR values are obtained, the noise values of the VOx resistors are much higher than the expected values, which suggest a further study to determine the cause of this noise.

This thesis reports the development of Vanadium Tungsten Oxide (VWO) film as an active detector material for uncooled infrared detectors by using the reactive DC magnetron co-sputtering method. VWO is a doped form of the Vanadium Oxide (VOx) which is known as a prominent material for uncooled infrared detectors with its high TCR, low resistivity, and low noise properties. VOx is a widely preferred material for commercialized uncooled infrared detectors along with its drawbacks. Fabrication is fairly difficult due to its unstable material properties and the need for low process temperatures for a monolithic, CMOS compatible surface micromachining process. Hence, a new material with high performance and easier fabrication is needed. This thesis is the first study at METU on the development of high-performance VWO as an active detector material for uncooled infrared detectors. Deposition studies of VWO primarily started by measuring the effects of deposition parameters upon the magnetron sputtering system. Because the high effectiveness of the tungsten doping has been obtained for the doping level below 10% according to literary information, maximum vanadium (V) deposition rate together with minimum tungsten (W) deposition rate has been initially aimed. TCR of the VWO films has been measured between -2.48 %/K and -3.31 %/K, and the variation of noise corner frequency from 0.6 kHz to 8 kHz has been observed. In addition to these results of VWO, a favorable VOx recipe which has the highest performance done at METU in terms of resistance, TCR, noise and uniformity has also attained during the studies. Structural characterization of VWO is achieved using XPS, XRD, and AFM characterization techniques. Other than the sputtering parameters, post-annealing process and oxygen plasma exposure was examined as well. A general observation of the post-annealing is that it decreases not merely the TCR but also the noise of the deposited film. A short-period oxygen plasma exposure has a constructive effect on the noise behavior. Fabricated vanadium tungsten oxide with sandwich type resistor structure shows very close but better bolometric properties when compared with the yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO), which is another material being studied in scope of other theses at METU. XPS, XRD and AFM characterization methods have been used for the structural characterization of vanadium-tungsten-oxide.

In this thesis, carbon supported platinum nanoparticles have been prepared by using PtCl4 as a starting material and 1-octanethiol, 1-decanethiol, 1-dodecanethiol and 1-hexadecanethiol as surfactants for methanol, ethanol and 2-propanol oxidation reactions. The structure, particle sizes and surface morphologies of the platinum were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD and TEM results indicate that all prepared catalysts have a face centered cubic structure and are homogeneously dispersed on the carbon support with a narrow size distribution (2.0 to 1.3 nm). X-ray photoelectron spectra of the catalysts were examined and it was found that platinum has two different oxidation state, Pt (0) and Pt (IV), oxygen and sulfur compounds are H2Oads and OHads, bounded and unbounded thiols. The electrochemical and electrocatalytic properties of those catalysts were investigated towards C1 to C3 alcohol oxidations by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). The highest electrocatalytic activity was obtained from catalyst I which was prepared with 1-octanethiol. This may be attributed to decrease in the ratio of bounded to unbounded thiol species and increase in Pt (0)/Pt (IV), H2Oads/OHads ratios, electrochemical surface area, CO tolerance and percent platinum utility.

Transition metal oxides have proven to be a fertile research area for condensed matter physicists due to the fascinating array of superconducting, magnetic and electronic properties they exhibit. A particular resurgence of intense activity in investigating the properties of these systems followed the discovery of high temperature superconductivity in the cuprates, colossal magnetoresistance in the manganites, ferroelectricity in the cobaltites and simultaneous ferroelectric and ferromagnetic ordering in the manganites. These diverse properties of transition metal compounds arise due to the presence of strong electron-electron interactions within the transition element 3d states. Indeed, it is the competition between the localizing effects of such interactions and the comparable hopping strengths driving the system towards delocalization, that is responsible for these wide spectrum of interesting properties. In terms of theoretical and fundamental issues, electronic structure of transition metal oxides play a most important role, providing a testing ground for new many-body theoretical approaches treating the correlation problem at various levels of approximations. In addition to this rich spectrum of properties, metal-insulator transitions often occur and can even be coincident with structural or magnetic changes due to the strong coupling between charge, magnetic and lattice degrees of freedom. However, in spite of the immense activities in this area, the underlying phenomena is not yet completely understood. A careful investigation of the electronic structure of these systems will help in the microscopic understanding of these and photoelectron spectroscopy has been established as the most powerful tool for investigating the electronic structures of these systems. In this thesis we investigate the electronic structures of some of these transition metal oxides and the metal-insulator transition as a function of electron correlation strength and doping of charge carriers by means of photoelectron spectroscopy; we analyze the experimental results using various theoretical approaches, in order to obtain detailed and quantitative understandings. This thesis is organized into seven chapters. Chapter 1 is a general introduction to the various concepts discussed in this thesis. Here we briefly describe the various mechanisms and theoretical formalisms used for understanding the metal-insulator transitions in strongly correlated systems and the evolution of the electronic structure across the transition. The experimental and the calculational techniques used in this thesis is described in Chapter 2. This includes different sample synthesis techniques and the characterization tools used in the present study. Photoelectron spectroscopic techniques used for probing the electronic structure of various systems are also discussed in this chapter. In Chapter 3, we discuss the coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity in ruthenocuprates by looking at the electronic structures of RuSr2Eu1.5Ce0.5Cu2O10 which is a ferromagnetic superconductor having the ferromagnetic TC ~ 100 K and a superconducting transition of ~ 30 K compared with RuSr2EuCeCu2O10 which is a ferromagnetic (TC ~ 150 K) insulator in conjunction with two reference systems, RuSr2GdO6and Sr2RuO4. The coexistence of ferromagnetic order with superconductivity below the superconducting temperature is an interesting issue since the pair-breaking due to magnetic interactions is not significant in these cases. Extensive photoelectron spectroscopic measurements were performed on these systems and our results show that Eu and Ce in both the ruthenocuprates exists in 3+ and 4+ states, respectively. Also the analysis of the Ru 3d and 3p core levels suggests that Ru remains in the pentavalent state in both the cases. The constancy of Ru valency with doping of charge carriers that bring about an insulator to metal transition and the superconducting state suggests that the electronic structure and transport properties of these compounds are not governed by the Ru-O plane, but by the Cu-O plane, much as in the case of other high TC cuprates. Analysis of the Cu 2p core level spectra in terms of a cluster model, including configuration interaction and multiplet interactions between Cu 3d and 2p as well as that within the Cu 3d states, establish a close similarity of the basic electronic structure of these ruthenocuprates to those of other high TC cuprates. Here the charge transfer energy, Δ << Udd,Cu 3d multiplet-averaged Coulomb repulsion energy, establishing the compounds to be deep in the charge transfer regime. Continuing with the ruthenocuprate systems in Chapter 4, we look at the electronic structure of hole doped La2CuRuO6systems using various photoemission techniques. It was expected that since the substitution of La3+by Sr2+changes the d electron count, the system will undergo a metal to insulator transition, but the transport properties show that all of them remain semiconducting through out the lowest temperature of measurement. A careful analysis of the Ru 3d and 3p core level spectra shows that Ru exists in Ru 4+state in La2CuRuO6and goes towards Ru 5+state with hole doping. This suggests that the doped holes affects the electronic structure of the Ru levels in these systems. A spectral decomposition of the Ru 3d core level suggests the existence of a spin orbit split doublet having two peaks, a main core level peak and a satellite peak at the higher binding energy side of the main peak and the intensity ratio of the satellite peak to the main peak increases with the insulating nature of the compounds as reported for other Ru 4d strongly correlated systems. This observation is also consistent with the transport properties. Cu 2p core level spectra also shows variations in the satellite-to-main peak Cu 2p intensities suggesting that the electronic structure of the Cu levels are also getting affected with Sr doping. Valence band spectral features near the Fermi level shows that the spectral weight is highest for La2CuRuO6and depletes slowly with Sr doping consistent with the expected d electron count as suggested by the Ru valencies. In Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 we discuss the electronic structure investigations of two early transition metal oxide series, namely Ca1−xSrxVO3and Ce1−xSrxTiO3. Surface sensitivity dependence of photoemission experiments has been explored to show that the surface and the bulk electronic structures of Ca1−xSrxVO3system is different. Photoemission spectra of this system using synchrotron radiation reveal a hither to unnoticed polarization dependence of the photoemission matrix elements for the surface component leading to substantial underestimation. Extracted bulk spectra from experimentally determined electron escape depth and underestimation of surface contributions resolve the puzzling issues that arose due to the recent diverse interpretations of the electronic structure in Ca1−xSrxVO3. Keeping in mind the above-mentioned caveat, the present results still clearly establish that the linear polarization of synchrotron radiation plays a key role in determining the spectral lineshape in these systems. The experimentally-determined bulk spectra provide an understanding of the electronic structure in Ca1−xSrxVO3, consistent with experimental γ values, calculated change in the d-bandwidth and the geometrical/structural trends across the series, thereby resolving the puzzle concerning the structure-property relationship in this interesting class of compounds. In Chapter 6 we discuss the issues of metal-insulator transition close to the d0limit as well as the evolution of the electronic structure of a strongly correlated system as a function of electron occupancy, by investigating the family of Ce1−xSrxTiO3compounds by recording core level as well as valence band photoemission spectra using lab source as well as synchrotron radiations. Core level Ce 3d spectra from Ce1−xSrxTiO3samples establish a trivalent state of Ce in these compounds for all values of x confirming that charge doping in the present system does not alter the electronic structure of Ce. Hence the change in valency due to Sr substitution and thus, the carrier number, takes place only in the Ti 3d-O 2p manifold. We also carried out extensive VUV photoemission experiments on these samples with the photon energy varying between 26-122 eV. From the difference spectrum obtained by subtracting the off-resonance spectrum from the on-resonance one, we obtain the Ce 4f spectral signature; thus obtained Ce 4f spectrum which has a peak at about 3 eV binding energy and shows no intensity at EF even for the metallic samples, consistent with a Ce3+state. In order to study the states near EF responsible for the metal-insulator transition in these compounds, we recorded the valence band spectra at the Ce 4f off-resonance condition so that the coherent and the incoherent spectral features arising from the Ti 3d states could be clearly resolved, allowing us to investigate the metal insulator transition in the Ce1−xSrxTiO3system as a function of Sr or hole doping. The experimental spectra of the metallic compounds exhibit an intensity of the incoherent feature considerably larger than that predicted by theory. This discrepancy is possibly due to a difference in the surface and the bulk electronic structures of these compounds. Chapter 7 is divided into two parts. In the first part we discuss the extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) studies performed on two transition metal oxide series, La1−xSrxCoO3and La1−xSrxFeO3to look at the local structure distortions happening around the transition metal ions and its role in bringing out metal to insulator transitions in transition metal oxide systems. Here we chose to investigate these two systems since La1−xSrxCoO3undergoes an insulator to metal transition for x ∼ 0.15 and La1−xSrxFeO3remains insulating for the entire range of doping. The static mean square relative displacement, which we believe to be a representation of the disorder present in the system, extracted by fitting the experimental data by a correlated Einstein model, as a function of composition in La1−xSrxCoO3saturates beyond the critical composition where as the disorder parameter continues to increase through out the entire doping range in the case of La1−xSrxFeO3where metal-insulator transition is absent. In the second part of Chapter 7 we discuss the x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) studies performed on the above mentioned series of systems. Co K-edge XANES spectra of La1−xSrxCoO3show that there is a systematic shift of the main absorption peak with hole doping suggesting that the Co valency changes systematically with Sr doping. Also, the pre-edge feature of LaCoO3shows the transitions to t2g level clearly showing that Co3+in LaCoO3is not in a pure low spin (t6 2g) state. The Fe K-edge XANES spectra of La1−xSrxFeO3also exhibit a systematic shift to the higher energy side with increase in Sr content, indicating an increase in the Fe valence. Also from the La L3edge analysis, it can be concluded that the oxygen environment around La and the electronic configuration of La are systematically changing with Sr doping.

Gegenstand dieser Arbeit ist die Untersuchung der Ober?ächen- bzw. Grenz?ächenphotospannung (SPV) an dünnen organischen Schichten auf Metallsubstraten. Besonderes Augenmerk gilt dabei dem System dünner Schichten von 3,4,9,10-Perylen- Tetracarbonsäure-Di-Anhydrid (PTCDA) auf einem Au(110)-Kristall. Für diese Untersuchungen wurde eine phasensensitive Methode auf der Basis der Photoelektronenspektroskopie (PES) mit zusätzlicher modulierter Lichteinstrahlung entwickelt, die es erlaubt, lichtinduzierte Verschiebungen des Ober?ächenpotentials mit einer Au?ösung ? 1mV zu detektieren. Diese modulierte Photoelektronenspektroskopie wird ausführlich vorgestellt. Eine makroskopische Kelvin-Sonde und die Kelvin-Sonden-Rasterkraftmikroskopie (KPFM) werden als weitere Möglichkeiten zur Bestimmung des Ober?ächenpotentials vorgestellt. Die Photospannung wird mit diesen Methoden in Bezug auf drei Parameter untersucht: Da die Barriere an der Grenz?äche, welche für die Ausbildung der Photospannung ursächlich ist, durch die Photospannung reduziert wird, geben Messungen der SPV in Abhängigkeit von der eingestrahlten Lichtleistung Informationen über die energetische Struktur der Grenz?äche, speziell über die Höhe der Barriere. Mit den ebenfalls aus diesen Methoden gewonnen Informationen über die Austrittsarbeit und Ionisationsenergie von PTCDA lässt sich ein Bandschema des Systems Au/PTCDA entwickeln. Die wellenlängenabhängigen Messungen zeigen, dass Exzitonen in verschiedenen Zuständen erzeugt werden. Diese werden mit unterschiedlichen Photonenenergien angeregt und besitzen unterschiedliche Di?usionslängen. Da die Exzitonen zum Dissoziieren an die Grenz?äche di?undieren müssen, tragen die unterschiedlichen Exzitonenzust ände mit unterschiedlichem Anteil zur Photospannung bei. Die Untersuchungen der Entstehungs- und Zerfallszeit zeigen, dass sich die Photospannung sehr schnell nach Lichteinschaltung aufbaut. Der Abbau der Photospannung nach Lichtabschaltung erfolgt vergleichsweise langsam. Dies bedeutet, dass die Ladungsträger, die nach der Ladungsträgertrennung in der organischen Schicht zur ückbleiben, in Fallenzuständen gebunden sind, aus denen sie thermisch aktiviert werden müssen. In einem separaten Abschnitt werden die Entwicklung sowie Messergebnisse eines Stimmgabel-Rasterkraftmikroskops (AFM) vorgestellt. Dieses ermöglicht die hochau ?ösende topographische Abbildung der Ober?äche mit einer vertikalen Sensitivität im Ångström-Bereich. Das Ziel, mit diesem Gerät KPFM zu betreiben, konnte beim Einsatz an Luft nicht verwirklicht werden. / Subject of this work is the investigation of surface and interface photovoltage (SPV) of thin organic films on metal substrates. Special attention is focused on the system of thin layers of 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic-dianhydride (PTCDA) on an Au(110) crystal. For this investigation a novel phase sensitive method was developed based on photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) under additional modulated illumination. It provides the possibility to detect light induced changes in the surface potential with a resolution of about 1mV. This modulated photoelectron spectroscopy is described in detail. Macroscopic Kelvin probe and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) are presented as further possibilities to measure the surface potential. The photovoltage is investigated by these techniques regarding three parameters: Due to the fact that the barrier at the interface is responsible for the formation of the photovoltage and that the height of this barrier is reduced by the photovoltage, the measurement of the dependence of the SPV on the intensity of the incident light provides information about the energetic structure of the interface. Together with the values of the work function and the ionisation energy of PTCDA, also gained with this methods, a band diagram of the interface can be developed. The wavelength dependent measurements show that excitons can be generated in multiple states. They are excited at different photon energies and have different diffusion lengths. The excitons have to diffuse to the interface to dissociate. Therefore the different excitation states contribute to SPV with different amounts. The investigations upon the generation and decay of the photovoltage shows that the SPV signal appears immediately after switching on the illumination. The decay of the photovoltage after switching off the light is much slower. This implies that the charge carriers are trapped as they remain in the organic film after charge separation at the interface. They have to be thermally activated from this traps. In an extra chapter the development and measurement results of a tuning fork scanning force microscope (AFM) are described. This AFM features high resolution topography images with a vertical sensitivity in the range of single angstroms.

No description available.

This article has been published online on 21st May 2014, in Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vac (Vol.32, Issue 4): http://scitation.aip.org/content/avs/journal/jvsta/32/4/10.1116/1.4878815?aemail=author DOI: 10.1116/1.4878815 This article may be accessed via the issue's table of contents at this link: http://scitation.aip.org/content/avs/journal/jvsta/32/4?aemail=author The surface chemistry of the bis(tri-n-butylphosphane) copper(I) acetylacetonate, [(nBu3P)2Cu(acac)], and the thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Cu2O using this Cu precursor as reactant and wet oxygen as co-reactant on SiO2 substrates are studied by in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Cu precursor was evaporated and exposed to the substrates kept at temperatures between 22 °C and 300 °C. The measured phosphorus and carbon concentration on the substrates indicated that most of the [nBu3P] ligands were released either in the gas phase or during adsorption. No disproportionation was observed for the Cu precursor in the temperature range between 22 °C and 145 °C. However, disproportionation of the Cu precursor was observed at 200 °C, since C/Cu concentration ratio decreased and substantial amounts of metallic Cu were present on the substrate. The amount of metallic Cu increased, when the substrate was kept at 300 °C, indicating stronger disproportionation of the Cu precursor. Hence, the upper limit for the ALD of Cu2O from this precursor lies in the temperature range between 145 °C and 200 °C, as the precursor must not alter its chemical and physical state after chemisorption on the substrate. 500 ALD cycles with the probed Cu precursor and wet O2 as co reactant were carried out on SiO2 at 145 °C. After ALD, in situ XPS analysis confirmed the presence of Cu2O on the substrate. Ex-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry indicated an average film thickness of 2.5 nm of Cu2O deposited with a growth per cycle of 0.05 Å/cycle. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations depicted a homogeneous, fine, and granular morphology of the Cu2O ALD film on SiO2. AFM investigations suggest that the deposited Cu2O film is continuous on the SiO2 substrate.