DESCRIPTION OF TECHNIQUE
Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) provides information about the chemical composition of the outermost material comprising a solid surface or interface. The principal advantages of AES over other surface analysis methods are excellent spatial resolution (< 1 µm), surface sensitivity (~20 Å), and detection of light elements. Detection limits for most elements range from about 0.01 to 0.1 at%.
AES uses a primary electron beam to excite the sample surface. When an inner-shell electron is ejected from a sample atom by the interaction with a primary electron, an electron from an outer shell fills the vacancy. To compensate for the energy change from this transition, an Auger electron or an xray is emitted. For light elements, the probability is greatest for the emission of an Auger electron, which accounts for the light-element sensitivity for this technique.
The energy of the emitted Auger electron is characteristic of the element from which it was emitted. Detection and energy analysis of the emitted Auger electrons produces a spectrum of Auger electron energy versus the relative abundance of electrons. Peaks in the spectrum identify the elemental composition of the sample surface. In some cases, the chemical state of the surface atoms can also be determined from energy shifts and peak shapes.
Auger electrons have relatively low kinetic energy, which limits their escape depth. Any Auger electrons emitted from an interaction below the surface will lose energy through additional scattering reactions along its path to the surface. Auger electrons emitted at a depth greater than about 2 - 3 nm will not have sufficient energy to escape the surface and reach the detector. Thus, the analysis volume for AES extends only to a depth of about 2 nm. Analysis depth is not affected by the energy of the primary electron energy.
The AES instrumentation can include a tungsten filament or field emission electron gun for the primary electron beam. The instruments are equipped for secondary electron imaging (SEM) to facilitate location of selected analysis areas, and micrographs of the sample surface can be obtained. The sample chamber is maintained at ultrahigh vacuum to minimize interception of the Auger electrons by gas molecules between the sample and the detector. Some instruments include special stages for fracturing samples to examine interfaces that have been freshly exposed within the vacuum chamber. A computer is used for acquisition, analysis, and display of the AES data.
