Premium
Advances in charge neutralization for XPS measurements of nonconducting materials
Author(s) -
Barth G.,
Linder R.,
Bryson C.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/sia.740110607
Subject(s) - x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , spectral line , line (geometry) , resolution (logic) , chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , calibration , kinetic energy , materials science , atomic physics , physics , nuclear magnetic resonance , quantum mechanics , geometry , mathematics , chromatography , astronomy , artificial intelligence , computer science
The build‐up of a positive charge during the XPS measurement of nonconducting materials can severely affect the spectral resolution leading to line broadening and time‐dependent energy shifts. The use of a low kinetic energy electron flood gun in conjunction with a metal screen placed in close proximity to the sample surface permits the establishment of a uniform surface potential. The advantages of this approach are demonstrated with spectral data taken from a variety of organic materials. Spectral line widths of 0.9–1.3 eV are routinely obtainable for the C(1s) core level photoelctron signals. Further, the reproducibility obtained on line positions (±0.1 eV) allows the use of a calibration procedure to study the relative line positions between different samples. This combined with better resolution allows a more complete assignment of spectral features including some nearest neighbor effects. A shift between aromatic and aliphatic C(1s) lines is observed.