Polarized x-ray-absorption spectra of TiS₂, TiSe₂, and TiTe₂

We studied the anisotropy of the unoccupied electron states of three titanium dichalcogenides by means of polarized x-ray-absorption spectroscopy. The experimental spectra of TiS₂, TiSe₂, and TiTe₂ at the Ti K edge and of TiTe₂ at the Te L₁ edge were compared with the results of real-space multiple-scattering calculations. The local angular momentum projections of the densities of states at the titanium sites are presented for energies up to 25 eV above the Fermi level. The Ti K-edge spectra of all three dichalcogenides are quite similar to each other provided the differences in their lattice constants are suppressed by comparing the spectra in equivalent energy scales. However, the correspondence between the Te L₁ edge of TiTe₂ and the S K edge of TiS₂ is much less pronounced. For most of the spectra good agreement between experiment and theory was found.