ABSTRACT
In both Auger electron spectroscopy (aes) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (xps) use an incident radiation which strikes the surface under study. This surface emits low energy electrons, the energy spectrum of which exhibits lines characteristic of the atoms present at the solid surface. By measuring the spectrum with an electron spectrometer in ultra-high vacuum obtain an analysis. Many of the experiments using aes involve the spatial resolution attribute as in studies of highly inhomogeneous materials such as integrated circuits, metal matrix composite materials and fracture samples, where elemental information is required with sub-micron spatial resolution. In xps, depth profiling is much less popular since large areas of material must be sputtered and, in addition, the sputter-induced changes in the surface chemistry must be allowed for. Electron spectrometers for aes and xps developed historically in different ways. The first genuine aes system was a 127° electrostatic deflector analyser focusing only in the dispersion direction.
