Quantitative Surface Analysis

Lecturer(s)

A. Rossi

Hour(s) of lecture(s), exercise(s) and credit points

2L
2E
4CP

Teaching goals

The attendee should learn the capabilities and limitations of quantitative analysis with the most commonly used surface-analytical methods: x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS or ESCA), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS).

The emphasis is on the acquisition of a sound basis in qualitative and quantitative analysis of experimental data based on practical examples and exercises from tribology, polymer science, biomaterials, passivity, etc.

At the end of this course the student should be able to critically read a reserach article that reports surface analytical data, to compare results from different laboratories and to properly select and use state-of-the-art surface analysis for studying different materials.

Summary and outline

XPS and AES:
Instrumental parameters (sources, analyzer); energy scale calibration; Analyzer transmission function determination; Sample preparation; Data acquisition; Data processing (satellite subtraction, background subtraction, curve-fitting);
Qualitative analysis, surface sensitivity, and chemical state determination: Auger parameter and chemical state plot.
Quantitative analysis of homogeneous (CeO2, ZnDTP, PET, PMMA), layered and heterogeneous systems (FeCr, Steels, layered polymers, ODP on Ta2O5, PLL-PEG on metal oxides). Modeling of surfaces.
Errors in quantitative analysis and their propagation; comparison of data from different instruments; depth-profiling techniques with the special enphasis on angle resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS) and the mathematical models to reconstruct a profile; imaging acquisition and processing;

SIMS on request of participants

Case studies; visits to the laboratory; computer-assisted data processing in the classroom.

Literature

Copy of the overheads and references given therein