The study of the electronic properties of small particles is of major interest because of their intriguing physicochemical properties. The very small electron probes available in scanning transmission electron microscopes offer unique capabilities for investigating small particles with subnanometer spatial resolution. The correlation between electron-energy-loss spectra and energy-filtered images is of great help in pinpointing the excitations under study. This paper presents a theoretical and experimental study of collective excitation modes in the bulk and at the interfaces and surfaces of small spherical silicon particles covered with a thin oxide coating. Among other results, our experimental measurements have shown that there exists a surface-mode excitation at 3–4 eV, precisely localized on the external surface of the oxide layer. Classical dielectric theory is used in interpreting these results, by invoking the presence of an ultrathin conductive layer.

• Received 18 July 1991

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.45.4332