High resolution digital Auger database of true spectra for Auger electron spectroscopy intensities

Abstract

An outline is presented of a new high resolution digital Auger database including most of the nonradioactive elements with wide scan spectra from 20 to 2500 eV at 1 eV intervals and details of the peaks at 0.1 eV intervals. These details are recorded at 0.25 eV resolution. These spectra have all instrumental contributions effectively removed. The database also contains measurements for many oxides. By using a new Auger electron spectrometer calibration system (shortly to become generally available) these data are presented as true spectra with an intensity scale of sr−1 eV−1. By convolution with the measured instrument response function these data may be made to simulate the measurements on any analytical spectrometer or, conversely, any instrument (without faults) may be calibrated to produce equivalent absolute spectra. Predictions of theoretical Auger electron intensities, based on Gryzinski’s cross section, Shimizu’s backscattering factor, and Tanuma et al.’s relations for the inelastic mean free path, summed to allow for Coster–Kronig transitions, are compared with the experimental measurements after the backgrounds have been removed. Both theory and experiment, here, have no arbitrary fitting parameters and are expressed on the absolute intensity scale in units of sr−1. Agreement is achieved for the first time.