Auger spectroscopy — Imaging and Z-profile. Applications

After acquiring an Auger spectrum in a fixed probe (see [ ]), the mapping of an element can be 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 ionic erosion of the surface.

With X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) or electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) 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 elemental analysis of surfaces and interfaces.

Combined with its high surface sensitivity, its specific character lies primarily in its excellent lateral resolution, which allows it to analyze objects of micrometric or even nanometric size. In addition to its potential applications in various fields of nanotechnology, its primary applications are in the microelectronics industry (analysis and control of highly integrated circuits), metallurgy (for grain boundary composition), mechanics and surface treatment, and even catalysis (for spot analysis of dispersed catalysts), as well as in research and application laboratories for metal multilayers.