Formation of single-phase BaO nanoclusters

Combined analysis employing in-situ X-rays photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and ex-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) has demonstrated the feasibility to deposit single-phase barium oxide overlayers by a direct sublimation of BaO material from an effusion cell. Furthermore, in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has confirmed that the BaO grows as nanoclusters with dimensions down to ~2 nm.