Auger electron, electron energy loss, secondary electron emission and secondary ion mass spectroscopic studies on the oxidation of hafnium at room temperature

Abstract

Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), secondary electron emission spectroscopy (SES) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) have been used to investigate the oxidation of a hafniun surface at room temperature (298 K). The change in the electronic energies of the core and valence levels with the oxidation is discussed on the basis of the comparison between the observed spectra and the electronic structures calculated for a hafnium atom, ion, bulk metal and bulk oxide. The growth of oxide films to a thickness of ca. 1.5 nm is found from the decay in the intensity of Auger electrons emitted by the metal substrate and from the depth profile of the SIMS spectra.