Matrix effects in quantitative auger analysis of dilute alloys

Abstract

In quantitative Auger analysis, the sensitivity factor of element i relative to element j is commonly set equal to the ratio of a peak height measured on a specimen of pure i to a peak height measured on a specimen of pure j. This neglects the matrix dependence of the Auger process, caused by changes in peak shape, sputtering, atomic density, escape depth, and backscattering. This paper evaluates the correction factors required for the last three of these. For the escape depth, both Penn's analysis and the expression of Seah and Dench are evaluated. For backscattering, Reuter's relation is used. The result is two tables, each with 4860 correction factors for all combinations of the more intense transitions of fifty-five elements evaluated when the matrix is almost purely one element. The distribution of these factors has a median of 1.0 and a standard deviation of 0.5. Individual entries in the tables may vary by as much as a factor of three, depending on which equation is used for the escape depth. These correction factors, however, are typically not strongly matrix dependent. Over half of them change by less than 5% in going from pure i to pure j. As more accurate data on the escape depth and backscatter corrections become available these tables can be evaluated for their accuracy and applicability to quantitative Auger analysis.