Auger spectroscopy - Imaging and z-profile. Applications

After acquiring an Auger spectrum with a fixed probe (see [ ]), the mapping of an element is easily obtained by measuring the evolution of the intensity of the corresponding Auger line during the scanning of the sample surface by the incident electron probe, while the depth profile is obtained, with a fixed probe, by following this same evolution during the ion erosion of the surface.

Alongside X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), electron-induced Auger spectromicroscopy (a combination of X-ray spectroscopy and electron spectroscopy) has been developed: "electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis") and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), electron-induced Auger spectromicroscopy (a combination of spectroscopy, generally referred to by the acronym e ^– AES for "electron-induced Auger electron spectroscopy", and Auger microscopy, generally referred to as SAM for "scanning Auger electron microscopy") is one of the three preferred techniques for the elemental analysis of surfaces and interfaces.

Combined with its high surface sensitivity, its specific character lies first and foremost in its excellent lateral resolution, enabling it to analyze objects of micrometric or even nanometric size. In addition to applications in the various fields of nanotechnology, its preferred applications are in the microelectronics industry (analysis and control of high-integration circuits), metallurgy (for the composition of grain boundaries), mechanics and surface treatments, and even catalysis (for spot analysis of dispersed catalysts), as well as in research and application laboratories for metal multilayers.