Temperature controller for use with low-energy electron studies of solid surfaces

The use of various low-energy electron spectroscopies is becoming increasingly common in surface research and analysis. An experimental problem encountered frequently in such measurements is to control the sample temperature without accumulating noise due to magnetic fields, in the case of resistive heating, or due to background electron current in the case of heating by electron bombardment. Either scheme for heating the sample will render the measurements unsatisfactory. In this work, we describe a temperature-controlling scheme in which temperature control and data acquisition take place in alternating time periods.