Quantitative analysis of x-ray photoemission spectra applied to ${\mathrm{Bi}}_2$${\mathrm{Sr}}_2$${\mathrm{CaCu}}_2$${\mathrm{O}}_8$ high-temperature superconductors

A model for quantitative analysis of core-level x-ray photoemission spectra based on relative core-level intensities for different elements is proposed. The model, which is generally applicable to single crystalline materials, allows an indirect comparison between electronic and structural properties of a solid material. In particular, for the highly anisotropic high-temperature superconductors, much information can be extracted using the proposed scheme. The model is exemplified for the ${\mathrm{Bi}}_2$ ${\mathrm{Sr}}_2$ ${\mathrm{CaCu}}_2$ ${\mathrm{O}}_8$ system, the experimental data from which show an excellent agreement with the theoretical predictions, thus validating the outlined approach. The results confirm that cleaved crystals of ${\mathrm{Bi}}_2$ ${\mathrm{Sr}}_2$ ${\mathrm{CaCu}}_2$ ${\mathrm{O}}_8$ are terminated by the Bi-O layer.