Studies of AuNi alloys by electron spectroscopies with the aid of the line shape analysis by the pattern recognition method

The spectrum of electrons elastically backscattered from the surface and within its vicinity reflects the probability of electron elastic backscattering on the surface atoms, quasi‐elastic scattering and the inelastic scattering visible in the low energy side of the elastic peak. The method for investigating the processes of electron elastic backscattering on the surface atom is called the elastic peak electron spectroscopy (EPES). In the present work, AuNi alloys of different compositions are investigated using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the EPES method with the aid of the line shape analysis called the fuzzy k‐nearest neighbour (fkNN) rule. The line shape analysis was found to be applicable for EPES spectroscopy. It allows distinguishing the surfaces exhibiting various surface roughness, texture and grain size, and quantifying the selected information depths. The quantitative results obtained from the XPS analysis and the EPES spectra line shape analysis indicated Au surface segregation with Au surface enriched profile. Quantitative discrepancies are discussed within the non‐uniform concentration profiles of constituents due to sputter cleaning and annealing, different diffusion coefficients for Au and Ni, differences in the information depths sampled by XPS and EPES methods and differences in electron elastic backscattering cross‐sections for Ni and Au. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

XPS and XAES of polyethylenes aided by line shape analysis: The effect of electron irradiation

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray induced Auger electron spectroscopy (XAES) have been used to investigate different polyethylene surfaces, i.e. low density polyethylene (PELD), high density polyethylene (PEHD) and polyethylene of ultra high molecular weight (PEUHMW). The ratio of Csp²/sp³ was evaluated from (i) fitting of XPS C 1s spectra, (ii) the width of XAES C KLL spectra (parameter D) and (iii) line shape analysis by the pattern recognition (PR) method using the fuzzy k-nearest neighbors (fkNN) rule. The proposed approaches investigate: (i) the differences between various polyethylene surfaces, (ii) their surface changes and degradation due to electron irradiation under various doses and (iii) their stability under electron beam irradiation.The results of proposed approaches, i.e. C 1s fitting, C KLL width evaluation and PR line shape analysis applied to C 1s and C KLL transitions, are qualitatively consistent. The unirradiated polyethylenes indicate nearly Csp³ hybridizations. Under an electron dose a rapid decrease of Csp³ is observed, starting at a dose of 100 Cm⁻². The quantitative differences observed between results obtained from analyses using the C KLL and C 1s spectra, can be explained with a smaller average information depth of C KLL transition. However, quantitative discrepancies between results of various approaches using the same electron transition, i.e. C KLL or C 1s, are smaller. The surface degradation due to X-ray irradiation was negligible in comparison to electron beam irradiation. The PR method was efficient in identifying the polyethylene surfaces under various electron doses. The largest stability under an electron beam is exhibited by the PEUHMW.