Auger electron spectroscopy

A Hanford scientist uses an Auger electron spectrometer to determine the elemental composition of surfaces.

Auger electron spectroscopy (AES; pronounced [oʒe] in French) is a common analytical technique used specifically in the study of surfaces and, more generally, in the area of materials science. It is a form of electron spectroscopy that relies on the Auger effect, based on the analysis of energetic electrons emitted from an excited atom after a series of internal relaxation events. The Auger effect was discovered independently by both Lise Meitner and Pierre Auger in the 1920s. Though the discovery was made by Meitner and initially reported in the journal Zeitschrift für Physik in 1922, Auger is credited with the discovery in most of the scientific community.[1] Until the early 1950s Auger transitions were considered nuisance effects by spectroscopists, not containing much relevant material information, but studied so as to explain anomalies in X-ray spectroscopy data. Since 1953 however, AES has become a practical and straightforward characterization technique for probing chemical and compositional surface environments and has found applications in metallurgy, gas-phase chemistry, and throughout the microelectronics industry.[2][3][4][5]

  1. ^ Grant, John T.; David Briggs (2003). Surface Analysis by Auger and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. Chichester: IM Publications. ISBN 1-901019-04-7.
  2. ^ Thomas A., Carlson (1975). Photoelectron and Auger Spectroscopy. New York: Plenum Press. ISBN 0-306-33901-3.
  3. ^ Briggs, David; Martin P. Seah (1983). Practical Surface Analysis by Auger and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-26279-X.
  4. ^ Thompson, Michael; M. D. Baker; A. Christie; J. F. Tyson (1985). Auger Electron Spectroscopy. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-04377-X.
  5. ^ Davis LE, ed. (1980). Modern Surface Analysis: Metallurgical Applications of Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Warrendale: The Metallurgical Society of AIME. ISBN 0-89520-358-8.