Uncertainties in photoemission peak fitting accounting for the covariance with background parameters

The uncertainties for peak parameters obtained through peak-fitting x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data are assessed using a rigorous covariance matrix approach. By incorporating the Active Approach, the method accounts for the covariance of the peak parameters with the rest of the parameters including those defining the background signal. Peak intensities (i.e., the areas) are employed as direct fitting parameters, so their uncertainties are directly determined. The method was tested employing a series of synthetic datasets. The results revealed a remarkable agreement between the standard deviations of the fitting parameters calculated through the proposed method and from the fitting results of the synthetic data.