Instrumental considerations for acquiring quantitative Auger electron spectra

Acquisition of Auger electron spectra which can be used for quantitative measure of surface composition depends fundamentally on knowledge of instrumental parameters which are often neglected or only poorly characterized. In this paper instrumental factors such as magnetic shielding, electron multiplier response, and the spectrometer transmission function of a commercial hemispherical analyzer are treated. An example of severe magnetic field interference is given, and a remedy for it is demonstrated that should be of application on other systems. Procedures for measuring the multiplier response function and the transmission function are described, and an instrumental correction function is shown. A spectrum of copper, after proper correction is shown to agree well with a spectrum that has been proposed by others as a standard for comparison among laboratories.