Photoelectron Spectroscopy of U Oxide at LLNL

In our laboratory at LLNL, an effort is underway to investigate the underlying complexity of 5f electronic structure with spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy using chiral photonic excitation, i.e. Fano Spectroscopy. Our previous Fano measurements with Ce indicate the efficacy of this approach and theoretical calculations and spectral simulations suggest that Fano Spectroscopy may resolve the controversy concerning Pu electronic structure and electron correlation. To this end, we have constructed and commissioned a new Fano Spectrometer, testing it with the relativistic 5d system Pt. Here, our preliminary photoelectron spectra of the UO{sub 2} system are presented. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to characterize a sample of UO{sub 2} grown on an underlying substrate of Uranium. Both AlK{alpha} (1487 eV) and MgK{alpha} (1254 eV) emission were utilized as the excitation. Using XPS and comparing to reference spectra, it has been shown that our sample is clearly UO{sub 2}.