Abstract:
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data presented here are the first on an epitaxial thin film of a mercury cuprate superconductor, the first in which signals from the superconducting phase dominate all the core level spectra, and the first to exhibit a clear Fermi edge in the valence band region. Mercury is found to be in a single chemical state, contrary to reports based on sintered polycrystalline pellets.