Laboratory Methods to Study Thin-Film Phenomena

Abstract

During the past fifteen years, materials characterization techniques have undergone dramatic changes, particularly with regard to the development of new spectroscopic techniques for the study of thin films. Most of these spectroscopic techniques use as primary sources electron beams, ion beams, or x-rays. They include such techniques as Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), electron induced x-ray fluorescence (which is also known as electron microprobe analysis (EMP) and includes both energy dispersive spectroscopy or x-ray analysis (EDS or EDX) and wavelength dispersive spectroscopy or x-ray analysis (WDS or WDX)), Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) which includes ion microprobe mass analysis (IMMA), x-ray induced x-ray fluorescence (XRF), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) which is also known as electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). For each of these techniques the detected species is also either electrons, ions, or x-rays.