d-d Excitations in Transition-Metal Oxides
In this monograph, investigations of the electronic structures of the transition-metal oxides MnO, CoO, and NiO with spin-polarized electron energy-loss spectroscopy are presented and compared with other experimental and theoretical results.The knowledge and use of the different spin, angle, and primary-energy dependences of the various relevant inelastic electron-scattering mechanisms provide new insights into the excitation processes of the optically forbidden transitions between the crystal-field-split 3d states of the bulk and of the surface. After a review of the present knowledge of the electronic structure of the monoxides, the spectroscopic method applied and its special advantages are described.