Structural and electronic properties of Ag-Pd superlattices

The electronic structure of silver-palladium heterostructures is investigated, both experimentally and through ab initio calculations. Synchrotron-radiation induced photoelectron spectroscopy characterizations of the work function and the valence band structure are compared to and explained by calculations of slab and bulk heterostructures. Work functions and equilibrium geometries are shown to be in agreement with synchrotron-radiation induced photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy measurements. Further insight into the differing behavior of the two terminating metal surfaces is extracted from the calculations.