Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) Lab Services

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Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) is an analysis technique of surface science and material science. AES usually uses an electron beam as a radiation source. The electron beam can be focused and scanned. Therefore, the AES can be used for surface microanalysis, and the Auger element image can be obtained directly from the phosphor screen. It is a powerful tool for investigating solid surfaces and is widely used in various material analysis and research on catalysis, adsorption, corrosion, and wear.

As a professional reliability third-party testing organization, T,C&A Lab's Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) Laboratory can provide the following services according to ISO, ASTM and other standards. Welcome to contact our experts for consultation.

Testing capabilities of AES include but are not limited to

Auger electron spectrometer has high surface sensitivity and plays an irreplaceable role in material surface analysis and testing. By correctly measuring and interpreting the characteristic energy, intensity, peak displacement, spectral line shape and width of AES, the information of surface composition, concentration and chemical state can be obtained directly or indirectly, so AES technology has been widely used in material surface analysis.

Material Failure Analysis

Due to the defects in the material forming process or the storage and use environment and other reasons, the materials or components lose their original performance in the process of storage and use. Through the analysis of the structure or cross-section of failure materials or failure parts, we can understand the causes of failure, provide technical support for material improvement and component design, and clarify the responsibility of accidents caused by failure. Auger electron spectrometer can be used to analyze the chemical analysis and element distribution of the fracture, so as to understand the cause of the fracture.

Qualitative Analysis of Surface Elements

The energy of the Auger electron is only related to the orbital energy level of the atom, and has nothing to do with the energy of the incident electron, that is, it has nothing to do with the excitation source. For specific elements and specific Auger transition processes, the energy of Auger electrons is characteristic. Therefore, it is possible to qualitatively analyze the types of elements on the surface of the sample based on the kinetic energy of Auger electrons. Since each element has multiple Auger peaks, the accuracy of qualitative analysis is very high.

Semi-quantitative Analysis of Surface Elements

There is a linear relationship between the intensity of Auger electrons emitted from the sample surface and the concentration of the atom in the sample, which can be used for semi-quantitative analysis of elements. The Auger electron intensity is not only related to the number of atoms, but also to the escape depth of the Auger electron, the surface finish of the sample and the chemical state of the elements. Therefore, AES technology generally cannot give the absolute content of the elements analyzed, but can only provide the relative content of elements.

Valence State Analysis of Surface Elements

Although the kinetic energy of Auger electrons is mainly determined by the type of element and the transition orbit, due to the shielding effect of the outer layer of the atom, the binding energy of the core level orbit and the sub-outer orbital electron is different in different chemical environments. There are some minor differences. The small difference in orbital binding energy can cause a change in the energy of Auger electrons, which is called Auger chemical shift. Generally speaking, the Auger electron involves three atomic orbital energy levels, and its chemical shift is much larger than that of XPS. The Auger chemical shift can be used to analyze the chemical valence state and existence form of the element in the substance.

Surface Element Distribution Analysis

Surface element analysis and distribution of Auger electron energy spectrum, also known as image analysis of Auger electron energy spectrum element distribution. It can represent the distribution of a certain element in a certain area in an image, just like an electron microscope photo. It's just that the electron microscope photos provide the surface morphology of the sample, while the Auger electron spectroscopy provides the distribution image of the elements. Combined with Auger chemical shift analysis, chemical distribution images of specific chemical valence elements can also be obtained.

Application fields of Auger electron spectroscopy

Material surface segregation, surface impurity distribution, grain boundary element analysis.
Study on the interface of metal, semiconductor and composite material.
Study on the growth mechanism of thin film and multilayer film.
Study on surface chemical processes, such as corrosion, passivation, catalysis, oxidation, etc.
Study on the mechanical properties of the surface, such as friction, wear, adhesion, fracture, etc.
Three-dimensional microcurvature analysis of integrated circuit doping.
Solid surface adsorption, cleanliness, contamination identification, etc.

Standards we test to

ASTM E996, ASTM E1127, ASTM E983, ASTM E995, ASTM E984, ASTM E1217
ISO 29081, ISO 24236, ISO 18118, ISO 20903, ISO 15471, ISO 18516, ISO 15471, ISO 18118, ISO/TR 18394, ISO/TR 19319

In addition, the experts in our Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) Laboratory also provide a variety of custom services as your needs and requirements. Let's discuss the custom services with our experts for free.

Instruments and data

Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) Lab Services

References

Azzaroni, O.; et al. Synthesis of gold nanoparticles inside polyelectrolyte brushes. Journal of Materials Chemistry 17.32 (2007): 3433-3439.
Usukawa, R.; et al. Conversion process of amorphous Si-Al-CO fiber into nearly stoichiometric SiC polycrystalline fiber. Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society 53.6 (2016): 610-614.

Note: this service is for Research Use Only and Not intended for clinical use.

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