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com

The basic mechanism behind an XPS instrument is illustrated in

XPS Spectra Figure 1. Photons of a specific energy are used to excite the
electronic states of atoms below the surface of the sample. Electrons
The XPS technique is used to investigate the chemistry at the ejected from the surface are energy filtered via a hemispherical
surface of a sample. analyser (HSA) before the intensity for a defined energy is recorded
by a detector. Since core level electrons in solid-state atoms are
quantized, the resulting energy spectra exhibit resonance peaks
characteristic of the electronic structure for atoms at the sample
surface. While the x-rays may penetrate deep into the sample, the
escape depth of the ejected electrons is limited. That is, for energies
around 1400 eV, ejected electrons from depths greater than 10nm
have a low probability of leaving the surface without undergoing an
energy loss event, and therefore contribute to the background signal
rather than well defined primary photoelectric peaks.

In principle, the energies of the photoelectric lines are well defined

in terms of the binding energy of the electronic states of atoms.
Further, the chemical environment of the atoms at the surface result
in well defined energy shifts to the peak energies. In the case of
conducting samples, for which the detected electron energies can be
referenced to the Fermi energy of the spectrometer, an absolute
energy scale can be established, thus aiding the identification of
species. However, for non-conducting samples the problem of
Figure 1: Schematic of an XPS instrument. energy calibration is significant. Electrons leaving the sample
surface cause a potential difference to exist between the sample and
the spectrometer resulting in a retarding field acting on the electrons

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escaping the surface. Without redress, the consequence can be peaks The background in XPS is non-trivial in nature and results from all
shifted in energy by as much as 150 eV. Charge compensation those electrons with initial energy greater than the measurement
designed to replace the electrons emitted from the sample is used to energy for which scattering events cause energy losses prior to
reduce the influence of sample charging on insulating materials, but emission from the sample. The zero-loss electrons constituting the
nevertheless identification of chemical state based on peak positions photoelectric peak are considered to be the signal above the
requires careful analysis. background approximation. A variety of background algorithms are
used to measure the peak area; none of the practical algorithms are
XPS is a quantitative technique in the sense that the number of correct and therefore represent a source for uncertainty when
electrons recorded for a given transition is proportional to the computing the peak area. Peak areas computed from the background
number of atoms at the surface. In practice, however, to produce subtracted data form the basis for most elemental quantification
accurate atomic concentrations from XPS spectra is not straight results from XPS.
forward. The precision of the intensities measured using XPS is not
in doubt; that is intensities measured from similar samples are
repeatable to good precision. What may be doubtful are results
reporting to be atomic concentrations for the elements at the surface.
An accuracy of 10% is typically quoted for routinely performed XPS
atomic concentrations. For specific carefully performed and
characterised measurements better accuracy is possible, but for
quantification based on standard relative sensitivity factors,
precision is achieved not accuracy. Since many problems involve
monitoring changes in samples, the precision of XPS makes the
technique very powerful.

The first issue involved with quantifying XPS spectra is identifying

those electrons belonging to a given transition. The standard
Figure 2: An example of a typical XPS survey spectrum taken from a
approach is to define an approximation to the background signal. compound sample.

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The data in Figure 2 illustrates an XPS spectrum measured from a

typical sample encountered in practice. The inset tile within Figure 2
shows the range of energies associated with the C 1s and K 2p
photoelectric lines. Since these two transitions include multiple
overlapping peaks, there is a need to apportion the electrons to the C
1s or the K 2p transitions using a synthetic peak model fitted to the
data. The degree of correlation between the peaks in the model
influences the precision and therefore the accuracy of the peak area
computation.

Relative sensitivity factors of photoelectric peaks are often tabulated

and used routinely to scale the measured intensities as part of the Figure 3: Germanium Oxide relative intensity to elemental germanium
measured using photoelectrons with kinetic energy in the range 262 eV to 272
atomic concentration calculation. These RSF tables can only be
eV.
accurate for homogenous materials. If the sample varies in
composition with depth, then the kinetic energy of the photoelectric
line alters the depth from which electrons are sampled. It is not
uncommon to see evidence of an element in the sample by
considering a transition at high kinetic energy, but find little
evidence for the presence of the same element when a lower kinetic
energy transition is considered. Transitions of this nature might be
Fe 2p compared to Fe 3p both visible in Figure 2, where the relative
intensity of these peaks will depend on the depth of the iron with
respect to the surface. Sample roughness and angle of the sample to
the analyser also changes the relative intensity of in-homogenous
samples, thus sample preparation and mounting can influence Figure 4: Germanium Oxide relative intensity to elemental germanium
measured using photoelectrons with kinetic energy in the range 1452 eV to
quantification values.
1460 eV.

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The chemical shifts seen in XPS data are a valuable source of layers; while at 90° the elemental substrate becomes dominant in the
information about the sample. The spectra in Figure 3 and Figure 4 spectrum.
illustrate the separation of elemental and oxide peaks of germanium
due to chemical state. Both spectra were acquired from the same
sample under the same conditions with the exception that the ejected
electrons for the Ge 3d peaks are about 1200 eV more energetic that
the Ge 2p electrons. The consequence of choosing to quantify based
on one of these transitions is that the proportion of oxide to
elemental germanium differs significantly. The oxide represents an
over layer covering of the elemental germanium and therefore the
low energy photoelectrons from the Ge 2p line are attenuated
resulting in a shallower sampling depth compared to the more
energetic Ge 3d electrons. Hence the volume sampled by the Ge 2p
transition favours the oxide signal, while the greater depth from
which Ge 3d electrons can emerge without energy loss favours the
elemental germanium. While these variations may seem a problem,
such changes in the spectra are also a source for information about
the sample.

Tilting the sample with respect to the axis of the analyser results in
changing the sampling depth for a given transition and therefore data
collected at different angles vary due to the differing composition
with depth. Figure 5 is a sequence of Si 2p spectra measured from Figure 5: Angle resolved Si 2p spectra showing the changes to the spectra
resulting from tilting the sample with respect to the analyser axis.
the same silicon sample at different angles. The angles associated
with the spectra are with respect to the axis of the analyser and the
sample surface. Data measured at 30° favours the top most oxide

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Other Peaks in XPS Spectra

Not all peaks in XPS data are due to the ejection of an electron by a
direct interaction with the incident photon. The most notable are the
Auger peaks, which are explained in terms of the decay of a more
energetic electron to fill the vacant hole created by the x-ray photon,
combined with the emission of an electron with an energy
characteristic of the difference between the states involved in the
process. The spectrum in Figure 2 includes a sequence of peaks
labelled O KLL. These peaks represent the energy of the electrons
ejected from the atoms due to the filling of the O 1s state (K shell)
by an electron from the L shell coupled with the ejection of an Figure 6: Elemental Silicon loss peaks and also x-ray satellite peak.
electron from an L shell.
Less prominent than Auger lines are x-ray satellite peaks. Data
Unlike the photoelectric peaks, the kinetic energy of the Auger lines acquired using a non-monochromatic x-ray source create satellite
is independent of the photon energy for the x-ray source. Since the peaks offset from the primary spectral lines by the difference in
kinetic energy of the photoelectrons are given in terms of the photon energy between the resonances in the x-ray spectrum of the anode
energy , the binding energy for the ejected electron and a material used in the x-ray gun and also in proportion to the peaks in
work function by the relationship , altering the x-ray spectrum for the anode material. Figure 6 indicates an
the photon energy by changing the x-ray anode material causes the example of a satellite peak to the primary Si 2p peak due to the use
Auger lines and the photoelectric lines to move in energy relative to of a magnesium anode in the x-ray source. Note that Auger line
one another. energies are independent of the photon energy and therefore do not
have satellite peaks.

A further source for peaks in the background signal is due to

resonant scattering of electrons by the surface materials. Plasmon

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peaks for elemental silicon are also labelled on Figure 6. The damage) and/or differential charging of the surface (localised
sharpness of these plasmon peaks in Figure 6 is due to the nature of differences in the charge-state of the surface).
the material through which the photoelectrons must pass. For silicon
dioxide, the loss structures are much broader and follow the trend of
a typical XPS background signal. The sharp loss structures in Figure
6 are characteristic of pure metallic-like materials.

Basic Quantification of XPS Spectra

XPS counts electrons ejected from a sample surface when irradiated
by x-rays. A spectrum representing the number of electrons recorded
at a sequence of energies includes both a contribution from a
background signal and also resonance peaks characteristic of the
bound states of the electrons in the surface atoms. The resonance
peaks above the background are the significant features in an XPS Figure 7: XPS and Auger peaks appear above a background of scattered electrons .
spectrum shown in Figure 7.

XPS spectra are, for the most part, quantified in terms of peak
intensities and peak positions. The peak intensities measure how
much of a material is at the surface, while the peak positions
indicate the elemental and chemical composition. Other values, such
as the full width at half maximum (FWHM) are useful indicators of
chemical state changes and physical influences. That is, broadening
of a peak may indicate: a change in the number of chemical bonds
contributing to a peak shape, a change in the sample condition (x-ray

Figure 8: Quantification regions

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The underlying assumption when quantifying XPS spectra is that the How to Compare Samples
number of electrons recorded is proportional to the number of atoms
in a given state. The basic tool for measuring the number of A direct comparison of peak areas is not a recommended means of
electrons recorded for an atomic state is the quantification region. comparing samples for the following reasons. An XPS spectrum is a
Figure 8 illustrates a survey spectrum where the surface is combination of the number of electrons leaving the sample surface
characterised using a quantification table based upon values and the ability of the instrumentation to record these electrons; not
computed from regions. The primary objectives of the quantification all the electrons emitted from the sample are recorded by the
region are to define the range of energies over which the signal can instrument. Further, the efficiency with which emitted electrons are
be attributed to the transition of interest and to specify the type of recorded depends on the kinetic energy of the electrons, which in
approximation appropriate for the removal of background signal not turn depends on the operating mode of the instrument. As a result,
belonging to the peak. the best way to compare XPS intensities is via, so called, percentage
atomic concentrations. The key feature of these percentage atomic
concentrations is the representation of the intensities as a percentage,
that is, the ratio of the intensity to the total intensity of electrons in
the measurement. Should the experimental conditions change in any
way between measurements, for example the x-ray gun power
output, then peak intensities would change in an absolute sense, but
all else being equal, would remain constant in relative terms.

Relative Intensity of Peaks in XPS

Each element has a range of electronic states open to excitation by

the x-rays. For an element such as silicon, both the Si 2s and Si 2p
transitions are of suitable intensity for use in quantification. The rule
for selecting a transition is to choose the transition for a given
Figure 9: O 1s Region element for which the peak area, and therefore in principle the RSF,

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is the largest, subject to the peak being free from other interfering Quantification of the spectrum in Figure 8 requires the selection of
peaks. one transition per element. Figure 9 illustrates the area targeted by
the region defined for the O 1s transition; similar regions are defined
Transitions from different electronic states from the same element for the C 1s, N 1s and Si 2p transitions leading to the quantification
vary in peak area. Therefore, the peak areas calculated from the data table displayed over the data in Figure 8. The Regions property page
must be scaled to ensure the same quantity of silicon, say, is shown in Figure 10 provides the basic mechanism for creating and
determined from either the Si 2s or the Si 2p transitions. More updating the region parameters influencing the computed peak area.
generally, the peak areas for transitions from different elements must Relative sensitivity factors are also entered on the Regions property
be scaled too. A set of relative sensitivity factors are necessary for page. The computed intensities are adjusted for instrument
transitions within an element and also for all elements, where the transmission and escape depth corrections, resulting in the displayed
sensitivity factors are designed to scale the measured areas so that quantification table in Figure 8.
meaningful atomic concentrations can be obtained, regardless of the
peak chosen. Quantification regions are useful for isolated peaks. Unfortunately
not all samples will offer clearly resolved peaks. A typical example
of interfering peaks is any material containing both aluminium and
copper. When using the standard magnesium or aluminium x-ray
anodes, the only aluminium photoelectric peaks available for
measuring the amount of aluminium in the sample are Al 2s and Al
2p. Both aluminium peaks appear at almost the same binding energy
as the Cu 3s and Cu 3p transitions. Thus estimating the intensity of
the aluminium in a sample containing these elements requires a
means of modelling the data envelope resulting from the
overlapping transitions illustrated in Figure 11.

Figure 10: Regions Property Page.

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construct peak models. Figure 12 illustrates a spectrum where a thin

layer of silver on silicon (University of Iowa, Jukna, Baltrusaitis and
Virzonis, 2007, unpublished work) introduces an interference with
the Si 2p transition from the Ag 4s transition.

Figure 11: Aluminium and Copper both in evidence at the surface.

Overlapping Peaks

Techniques for modelling data envelopes not only apply to

separating elemental information, such as the copper and aluminium
intensities in Figure 11, but also apply to chemical state information
about the aluminium itself. Intensities for the aluminium oxide and
metallic states in Figure 11 are measured using synthetic line-shapes
or components. An XPS spectrum typically includes multiple
transitions for each element; while useful to identify the composition
of the sample, the abundance of transitions frequently leads to Figure 12: Elemental and oxide states of Silicon
interference between peaks and therefore introduces the need to

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The subject of peak-fitting data is complex. A model is typically compensation for the sample and the availability of a peak at known
created from a set of Gaussian/Lorentzian line-shapes. Without binding energy to provide a reference for shifting the energy scale.
careful model construction involving additional parameter
constraints, the resulting fit, regardless of how accurate a
representation of the data, may be of no significance from a physical
perspective. The subject of peak fitting XPS spectra is dealt with in
detail elsewhere.

Peak models are created using the Components property page on the
Quantification Parameters dialog window shown in Figure 13. A
range of line-shapes are available for constructing the peak models
including both symmetric and asymmetric functional forms. The
intensities modelled using these synthetic line-shapes are scaled
using RSFs and quantification using both components and regions
are offered on the Report Spec property page of CasaXPS.

Peak Positions
Figure 13: Components property page on the Quantification Parameters
In principle, the peak positions in terms of binding energy provide dialog window.
information about the chemical state for a material. The data in
Figure 2 provides evidence for at least three chemical states of Charge Compensation
silicon. Possible candidates for these silicon states might be SiO2,
Si2O3, SiO, Si2O or Si, however an assignment based purely on the The XPS technique relies on electrons leaving the sample. Unless
measured binding energies for the synthetic line-shapes relies on an these emitted electrons are replaced, the sample will charge relative
accurate calibration for the energy scale. Further, the ability to to the instrument causing a retarding electric field at the sample
calibrate the energy scale is dependent on the success of the charge surface. For conducting samples electrically connected to the
instrument, the charge balance is easily restored; however, for

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insulating materials electrons must be replaced via an external The data in Figure 14 shows spectra from PTFE (Teflon) acquired
source. Insulating samples are normally electrically isolated from with and without charge compensation. The C 1s peaks are shifted
the instrument and low energy electrons and/or ions are introduced by 162 eV between the two acquisition conditions, but even more
at the sample surface. The objective is to replace the photoelectrons importantly, the separation between the C 1s and the F 1s peaks
to provide a steady state electrical environment from which the differ between the two spectra by 5 eV. Without effective charge
energy of the photoelectrons can be measured. compensation, the measured energy for a photoelectric line may
change as a function of kinetic energy of the electrons.

Charge compensation does not necessarily mean neutralization of

the sample surface. The objective is to stabilize the sample surface
to ensure the best peak shape, whilst also ensuring peak separation
between transitions is independent of the energy at which the
electrons are measured. Achieving a correct binding energy for a
known transition is not necessarily the best indicator of good charge
compensation. A properly charge compensated experiment typically
requires shifting in binding energy using the Calibration property
page, but the peak shapes are good and the relative peak positions
are stable.

A nominally conducting material may need to be treated as an

insulating sample. Oxide layers on metallic materials can transform
a conducting material into an insulated surface. For example,
aluminium metal oxidizes even in vacuum and a thin oxide layer
behaves as an insulator.

Figure 14: Insulating sample before and after charge compensation. Calibrating spectra in CasaXPS is performed using the Calibration
property page on the Spectrum Processing dialog window.

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Depth Profiling using XPS

Figure 16: The set of O 1s spectra measured during a depth profiling

experiment.

Figure 15: Segment of an XPS depth profile.

The set of XPS spectra corresponding to the oxygen 1s peaks from a
While XPS is a surface sensitive technique, a depth profile of the depth profile experiment depicted logically in Figure 15 are
sample in terms of XPS quantities can be obtained by combining a displayed in Figure 16. The objective of these experiments is to plot
sequence of ion gun etch cycles interleaved with XPS measurements the trend in the quantification values as a function of etch-time.
from the current surface. An ion gun is used to etch the material for
a period of time before being turned off whilst XPS spectra are The actual depth for each XPS analysis is dependent on the etch-rate
acquired. Each ion gun etch cycle exposes a new surface and the of the ion-gun, which in turn depends on the material being etched at
XPS spectra provide the means of analysing the composition of any given depth. For example, the data in Figure 16 derives from a
these surfaces. multilayer sample consisting of silicon oxide alternating with
titanium oxide layers on top of a silicon substrate. The rate at which

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the material is removed by the ion gun may vary between the layers
containing silicon oxide and those layers containing titanium oxide,
with a further possible variation in etch-rate once the silicon
substrate is encountered. The depth scale is therefore dependent on
characterizing the ion-gun however each XPS measurement is
typical of any other XPS measurement, with the understanding that
the charge compensation steady state may change between layers.

Figure 18: Logical structure of the VAMAS blocks in an XPS depth profile.

The XPS depth profile in Figure 17 is computed from the VAMAS

file data logically ordered in CasaXPS as shown in Figure 18. The O
1s spectra displayed in Figure 16 are highlighted in Figure 18. One
point to notice about the profile in Figure 17 is that the atomic
concentration calculation for the O 1s trace is relatively flat for the
silicon oxide and titanium oxide layers, in contrast to the raw data in
Figure 16, where the chemically shifted O 1s peaks would appear to
Figure 17: XPS Depth Profile of silicon oxide/titanium oxide multilayer
be more intense for the silicon oxide layers compared to the titanium
sample profiled using a Kratos Amicus XPS instrument. oxide layers. This observation is supported by the plot of adjusted

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peak areas in Figure 19, where again the O 1s trace is far from flat. Understanding Relative Sensitivity Factors for
The profile in Figure 17 is far more physically meaningful than the Doublet Transitions
variations displayed in Figure 19. Normalization of the XPS
When quantifying XPS spectra, Relative Sensitivity Factors (RSF)
intensities to the total signal measured on a layer by layer basis is
are used to scale the measured peak areas so variations in the peak
important for understanding the sample. This example is a good
areas are representative of the amount of material in the sample
illustration of why XPS spectra should be viewed in the context of
surface. An element library typically contains lists of RSFs for XPS
the other elements measured from a surface.
transitions. For some transitions more than one peak appears in the
The details of how to analyze a depth profile in CasaXPS are data in the form of doublet pairs and, in the case of the default
discussed at length in The Casa Cookbook and other manual pages CasaXPS library, three entries are available for each set of doublet
available from the Help option on the Help menu. peaks: one entry for the combined use of both doublet peaks in a
quantification table and two entries for situations where only one of
the two possible peaks are used in the quantification. A common
cause of erroneous quantification is the inappropriate use of these
optional RSF entries.

Figure 19: Peak areas scaled by RSF used to compute the atomic
Figure 20: Example of quantification regions and components used to
concentration plots in Figure 17.
quantify peak areas.

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The data in Figure 20 are a set of high resolution spectra where interference from other peaks and therefore simple integration
quantification regions and components are used to calculate the area regions can be used to measure the peak areas. The Ar 2p doublet
for the peaks. These data illustrate some of the issues associated peaks overlap each other; however the Cr 2p and Fe 2p peaks do not
with XPS quantification as the data includes singlet peaks in the overlap, thus separate quantification regions are used to measure the
form of O 1s, C 1s, Al 2s and N 1s; as well as doublet pairs: Cr 2p, area for these resolved doublet peaks. Even though separate regions
Cu 2p, Ar 2p and Fe 2p. The spectra are sufficiently complex to are used to estimate the peak areas for the two peaks in each of the
involve overlaps such as the Al 2s and Cu 3s, while the Cu 2p1/2 Cr 2p and the Fe 2p transitions, total RSFs for these transitions are
peak includes signal from a Cr Auger line. When creating a table of used to scale the raw area calculated from the regions. Similarly, the
percentage atomic concentrations it is important to select the correct total RSF is used to scale the Ar 2p doublet peaks, because both
RSF for the peak area chosen to measure the given element. peaks from the doublet are used in calculating the peak area for
argon. On the other hand, since the Cu 2p1/2 peak overlaps with the
Name R.S.F. % Conc.
Cr LMM Auger transition, only the Cu 2p3/2 peak can be used with
Cr 2p 1/2 10.6041 2.9
Cr 2p 3/2 10.6041 6.2
ease and so the reduced RSF must be applied to scale the peak area.
Fe 2p 1/2 14.8912 2.2 The quantification table in Table 1 lists the regions and components
Fe 2p 3/2 14.8912 4.5 used to calculate the atomic concentrations together with the RSFs
Cu 2p 3/2 15.0634 4.4 for each transition.
Al 2s Metal 0.753 61.4
Al 2s Ox 0.753 5.1 Note the peak model used to measure the Al 2s includes a
Ar 2p 2.65797 5.5
component representing the contribution of the Cu 3s transition to
O 1s 2.93 6.2
C1s 1 1.5 the Al 2s spectrum in Figure 20. Copper is measured using the Cu
N1s 1.8 0.2 2p3/2 peak therefore the RSF for the Cu 3s component is set to zero
Table 1: Quantification table showing RSFs used to scale the raw peak areas. so that the component does not appear in Table 1.

When measuring a transition, from the perspective of signal to noise, By way of example, an alternative quantification regime might be to
it is better to include both peaks from a doublet pair. For the data in use only one of the two possible Fe 2p doublet peaks. The
Figure 20, the Fe 2p, Cr 2p and Ar 2p transitions are free of quantification in Table 2 removes the Fe 2p1/2 region from the

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calculation by setting the RSF to zero, whilst adjusting the Fe 2p3/2

Al 2s Metal 0.753 61.3
RSF to accommodate the absence of the Fe 2p1/2 peak area from the
calculation. Since the ratio of 2p doublet peaks should be 2:1, the Al 2s Ox 0.753 5.1

RSF for the Fe 2p3/2 region is two thirds of the total RSF used in
Ar 2p 2.65797 5.5
Table 1. In Table 1, the percentage atomic concentration for Fe is
split between the two Fe 2p doublet peaks, whereas in Table 2 the O 1s 2.93 6.2

entire Fe 2p contribution is estimated using the Fe 2p3/2 and C1s 1 1.5

therefore the same amount of Fe is measured via either approach.
N1s 1.8 0.2

A common misunderstanding is to use both peaks in the calculation,

Table 2: Fe 2p 3/2 peak is used without the area from the Fe 2p 1/2.
but still assign RSFs for the individual peaks in the doublet. The
consequence of using both peaks and the specific RSFs to the To further illustrate the issues associated with the uses of the three
individual peaks in the doublet is the contribution from Fe to the RSFs associated with doublet peaks, consider the three possible
quantification table would be incorrectly increased by a factor of options available when quantifying the Cr 2p doublet shown in
two. Figures 21, 22 and 23. Table 3 shows that the corrected area when
measured using any of these three options is approximately the
Note: the RSFs used in both Table 1 and Table 2 are Scofield cross- same.
sections adjusted for angular distribution corrections for an
instrument with angle of 90º between the analyser and x-ray source.

Name R.S.F. % Conc.

Cr 2p 1/2 10.6041 2.9

Cr 2p 3/2 10.6041 6.2 Figure 21: Intensity for Cr calculated from the Cr 2p1/2 transition.

Fe 2p 3/2 9.8064 6.8

Cr 2p1/2 RSF Raw Area

Cu 2p 3/2 15.0634 4.4

3.60721 19234.8

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RSF Raw Area Corrected Area

Peak Raw Area/(RSF*T*MFP)

Cr 2p 1/2 3.60721 19234.8 125.455

Cr 2p 3/2 6.9697 40871.9 138.192

Both Cr 2p Peaks 10.6041 60098.5 133.555

Figure 22 Intensity for Cr calculated from the Cr 2p3/2 transition. Table 3: Comparison of the intensities calculated from the three different
combinations of peak area and RSF for the Cr 2p doublet illustrated in
Cr 2p3/2 RSF Raw Area Figure 21 Figure 22 and Figure 23.

6.9697 40871.9
Electronic Energy Levels and XPS Peaks

Figure 23 Intensity for Cr calculated from both peaks in the doublet.

Total RSF Raw Area

An electron spectrum is essentially obtained by monitoring a signal
10.6041 60098.5 representing the number of electrons emitted from a sample over a
range of kinetic energies. The energy for these electrons, when
excited using a given photon energy, depends on the difference

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between the initial state for the electronic system and the final state. peak in the spectrum and offers information regarding the
If both initial and final states of the electronic system are well degeneracy of the electronic state involved. The relative intensity of
defined, a single peak appears in the spectrum. Well defined these doublet pair peaks linked by the quantum numbers nl is
electronic states exist for systems in which all the electrons are determined from the j = l ± ½ quantum number. Doublet peaks
paired with respect to orbital and spin angular momentum. The appear with intensities in the ratio 2j1+1 : 2j2+1. Thus p-orbital
initial state for the electronic system offers a common energy level doublet peaks are assigned j quantum numbers 1/2 and 3/2 and appear
for all transitions. When an electron is emitted from the initial state with relative intensities in the ratio 1:2.
due to the absorption of a photon, the electrons emerge with kinetic
energies characteristic of the final states available to the electronic
system and therefore XPS peaks represent the excitation energies
open to the final states. Since these final states include electronic
sub-shells with unpaired electrons, the spin-orbit coupling of the
orbital and spin angular moment results in the splitting of the energy
levels otherwise identical in terms of common principal and orbital
angular momentum. Thus, instead of a single energy level for a final
state, the final state splits into two states referred to in XPS as
doublet pairs. To differentiate between these XPS peaks, labels are
assigned to the peaks based on the hole in the final state electronic
configuration. Since these final states, even when split by spin-orbit
interactions, are still degenerate in the sense that more than one
electronic state results in the same energy for the system, three
Similar intensity ratios and differing energy separations are common
quantum numbers are sufficient to identify the final state for the x-
features of doublet peaks in XPS spectra. Final states with s
ray excited system. Specifying the three quantum numbers in the
symmetry do not appear as doublets, e.g. Au 4s.
format nlj both uniquely identifies the transition responsible for a

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Examples of XPS Spectra

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Bulk molybdenum disulphide measured using a Kratos Axis Nova

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Tartaric Acid
H
O
O

H
C C O
H H
O C C
H
O
O
H

Carbon appears in tartaric acid in two

chemical environments resulting in two O
O
identifiable binding energies for the C 1s
H transition. Each chemical state appears
C in equal proportions in the tartaric acid
molecule. C

C C O C

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Oxygen appears in the tartaric acid molecule in

O two chemical environments resulting in two O
closely positioned binding energies for the O 1s H
transition. Each chemical state appears in a C
C proportion of 2:4 in the tartaric acid molecule.

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SiO2 measured using an aluminium anode.

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Note the relative movement of the O KLL Auger line relative to the O 1s peak for data acquired using a magnesium anode compared
to the SiO2 data measured with an aluminium anode. The elemental silicon in the sample also accounts for the sequence of plasmon
loss peaks not seen in the SiO2 data.

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Aluminium oxide sample analysed using an aluminium monochromatic source.

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Again, metallic aluminium is responsible for the sequence of plasmon loss peaks associated with the Al 2p and Al 2s photoelectric
lines not present in the aluminium oxide spectrum. It is worth observing the argon from the ion gun used to reduce the depth of the
aluminium oxide layer exhibits plasmon loss structures characteristic of the aluminium metal. Note also that the plasmon loss peaks
from the Al 2p transition will interfere with the Al 2s peak, hence the common practice of using the Al 2p line to quantify samples
containing aluminium.

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Gold measured using a silver anode in the x-ray monochromatic source.

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Gold spectrum measured using a Cylindrical Sector Analyser (CSA) and Synchrotron a photon energy of 10.5 keV (PETRA P09 Beamline,
Hamburg DESY; FOCUS HV-CSA).

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Data provided by Bridget Rogers, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

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The peak model is to illustrate a complex data envelope fitted with simple Gaussian-Lorentzian lineshapes. For a more complete
discussion of Ce Oxide please see:V. Matolín, M. Cabala, V. Cháb, I. Matolínová, K. C. Prince, M. Škoda, F. Šutara, T. Skála and K.
Veltruská, A resonant photoelectron spectroscopy study of Sn(Ox) doped CeO2 catalysts, Surf. Interface Anal. 40 (2008) 225–230.

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XPS spectra and electronic structure of Group IA sulfates, M. Wahlqvist, A. Shchukarev / Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and
Related Phenomena 156–158 (2007) 310–314
XPS Study of Group IA Carbonates, A.V. Shchukarev, D.V. Korolkov / CEJC 2(2) 2004 347-362

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PMMA
CH3

CH C n
2

C O

CH3

H
C O C

O H C H
C H C H C C C

C C
O H

Different Chemical States for Carbon in Poly(methyl methacrylate) C C C

H
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Poly(methyl methacrylate): C 1s peak assignments are based on those of Beamson and Briggs (The XPS of Polymers Database
Edited by Graham Beamson and David Briggs (2000) ISNB: 0-9537848-4-3.

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Acknowledgments
Data used to prepare this PDF were donated by:

University of Manchester, UK
University of Nottingham, UK
Peking University, China
Max Plank Institute Düsseldorf, Germany
Umeå University, Sweden
Lehigh University, USA
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
Technical University of Eindhoven, The Netherlands
University of Nantes, France
and several unnamed contributors.

A thank you to all involved in collecting these data.

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