The role of core level shifts at metallic interfaces has often been ignored in electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) even though very small changes in bond length can lead to large core level shifts. However, the popular interpretation of core level shifts as measures of charge transfer is highly problematic. For instance, in binary alloys systems, the core level shifts can be the same sign for both atomic constituents[l]. The simple interpretation would require that both atomic species had lost or gained charge. Further, the signs of the core level shifts can be opposite to those expected from electronegativity arguments[2]. A core level shift (CLS) is still possible, even when no charge transfer occurs. As illustrated in Fig. 1, if the valence band width is increased, the position of the center of the valence band with respect to the Fermi energy will change (as the number of electrons remains unchanged).
