Electron grazing angle analysis

In X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS or X-PES), the irradiation (usually a Mg K a (1253.6 eV) or A1K a (1486.6 eV) source) causes a core electron to be ejected. This is a more useful technique than UPS for surface studies, since the binding energies of core electrons are characteristic of the elements in question and surface elements can thus be identified by the traditional spectroscopic fingerprinting procedure. In this respect, XPS is sometimes referred to by its alternative name, electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). In order to emphasis the contribution from surface atoms, the X-ray beam is usually set at a grazing angle to the surface. Most of the signal originates from within a nanometre of the surface. 

Madey and co-workers followed the reduction of titanium with XPS during the deposition of metal overlayers on TiOi [87]. This shows the reduction of surface TiOj molecules on adsorption of reactive metals. Film growth is readily monitored by the disappearance of the XPS signal from the underlying surface [88, 89]. This approach can be applied to polymer surfaces [90] and to determine the thickness of polymer layers on metals [91]. Because it is often used for chemical analysis, the method is sometimes referred to as electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). Since x-rays are very penetrating, a grazing incidence angle is often used to emphasize the contribution from the surface atoms. 

In Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis (TXRF), the sutface of a solid specimen is exposed to an X-ray beam in grazing geometry. The angle of incidence is kept below the critical angle for total reflection, which is determined by the electron density in the specimen surface layer, and is on the order of mrad. With total reflection, only a few nm of the surface layer are penetrated by the X rays, and the surface is excited to emit characteristic X-ray fluorescence radiation. The energy spectrum recorded by the detector contains quantitative information about the elemental composition and, especially, the trace impurity content of the surface, e.g., semiconductor wafers. TXRF requires a specular surface of the specimen with regard to the primary X-ray light. 

Unique information about the unit cell in quasi-crystaUine monolayers can be obtained from X-ray °, neutron , heUum or low energy electron diffraction (LEED) data. In the grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) experiment the beam is directed at the coated surface at a low angle and experiences total internal reflection from the metal support underneath the monolayer. The analysis of reflectivity and diffraction pattern of this reflected beam provides information about the molecular structure of the crystalline films, the thickness and refractive index of the layers and the roughness of the surface s . These experiments, however, require sophisticated and expensive equipment and are not therefore used routinely for monolayer characterization. 

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