INELASTIC INTERACTIONS OF ELECTRONS WITH SURFACES - APPLICATION TO AUGER-ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY AND X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON-SPECTROSCOPY

Electron-based probes of surface properties are used frequently in surface science since strong inelastic scattering for electron energies between about 50 and 2000 eV ensures high surface sensitivity. An overview is given of developments in the understanding of inelastic electron scattering in solids with emphasis on important surface properties. Auger-electron spectroscopy (AES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are the two techniques most commonly used for measurements of surface composition. We give a brief description of the development of AES and XPS and then proceed to describe the role of inelastic electron scattering in AES and XPS. Attention is given to the measurement of electron attenuation lengths, to the calculation of electron inelastic mean free paths, and to intensity measurements for quantitative AES and XPS.