Comparison of Evaporated Surface Coatings Using the Ion Scattering Spectrometer and the Auger Electron Spectrometer

Abstract

Ion scattering and Auger spectrometry have proven to be useful analytical techniques for elemental analysis of surface composition. However, few, if any, previous studies have been made to show the variations that exist between the two analytical techniques. To better illustrate the difference in results between the two analytical techniques, a series of thin film evaporated coatings were prepared on different substrates for examination and analysis on both the ion scattering spectrometer (ISS) and Auger electron spectrometer (AES). Some basic agreement between the two techniques is noted; however, the variation with substrate and extraneous element concentrations shows that the characterization of material surfaces using ISS and AES demands further investigation and development before quantitative analyses can be attempted.