Chapter 5.6 - Common Analytical Methods for Surface and Thin Film

Abstract

The electron spectroscopies are the most common surface analytical techniques used in industry, especially, Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Both AES and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are used for submonolayer qualitative and quantitative surface analysis. AES is most often used in the depth-profiling mode, but can be used to obtain chemical information. XPS can also be used in the depth-profiling mode, but as a result of the “X-ray beam size,” depth profiling is much slower because of the larger sputtered area required. Both AES and XPS are typically equipped with ion milling or sputtering using rare gases (He, Ne, Ar, or Xe). Ion gun designs permit a focused beam of rare gas ions to be produced with kinetic energy from 500 eV through 10 keV. The beams can be focused to spot sizes on the order of 10 μm, but are generally used at larger spot sizes. To produce an elemental depth profile that is accurate, the ion beam is rastered over an area larger than the analyzed area.