Potential profile
The potential profile tool reads SIESTA's planar-averaged electrostatic potential output and plots it along a chosen Cartesian axis. It is mainly used for slab calculations where you want to extract the vacuum level and work function.
Inputs
Upload or pull a potential output file from your cluster, or select one that was auto-imported. The tool detects the axis automatically based on the slab geometry — axes with a vacuum region are labelled in the panel.
Reading the plot
- The x-axis is position along the chosen lattice direction (in Angstroms).
- The y-axis is the electrostatic potential (in eV).
- The vacuum level is marked where the potential plateaus in the vacuum region.
- The work function is the difference between the vacuum level and the Fermi energy (which you can enter manually if not present in the file).
Choosing the axis
If the auto-detected axis is wrong, use the axis selector in the panel to switch. Axes without a vacuum region will still plot but without vacuum/work- function markers.