Deconvolution in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Published Mg and Al Kα X-ray lineshapes have been used to study the removal of the effects of X-ray broadening in XPS spectra by deconvolution. These results are compared with spectra obtained for the same specimens in the same instrument using a monochromatic X-ray source. The use of deconvolution to remove analyzer broadening from spectra has also been examined, and it has been verified experimentally that the maximum improvement in the full width at half-maximum of a peak that can be achieved is 30%. Deconvolution has also been examined as a means to remove backgrounds from XPS spectra over wide energy ranges, up to 100 eV.