Metallic contacts, Auger electron spectroscopy

While Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy can give elemental and organic structual information, respectively, they have limitations in the amount of material they can detect. For example, where polymers are in sliding, rolling or rubbing contact with metal or alloys wear to the metal as well as... 

If we assume that the development of a standard state, i.e. ideal metal-vacuum interface, was in fact the key to the advancements in metallic contact analysis we should also expect that this will also be the case in the polymer, or solid organic, friction or adhesion analysis. The consequence is that polymer surface characterization under various environments becomes the most important issue at hand. The achievement of the standard surface state in polymer or solid organic system will be most difficult due to the relatively weak intermolecular bonding forces and the normal existance of a wide range of impurities within the material itself. Ambient vacuum conditions are required for most of the physics oriented surface characterization techniques, e.g. LEED, FIM, Auger electron spectroscopy and under these conditions the surface can be modified by... 

Since electron spectroscopy reached high precision, that is since the birth and development of ESCA (as described in [5]), the kinetic energy of electrons ejected from atoms can be directly measured. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) competes with X-ray spectroscopy to give electron binding energies. The work function of the electron spectrometer with which the test sample is in contact needs to be known. At present a reference value of a metal level, usually Au 4f7/2 (taken as 84.00 eV) is used. This technique is preferred especially for low-energy levels since X-ray transition measurements suffer from the addition of two experimental errors. Other techniques are also used such as isochromats (see [14]) or appearance potential observations, and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) but this involves three levels. 

Brainard, W.A. Buckley, D.H. "Adhesion and Friction of PTFE in Contact With Metals as Studied by Auger Spectroscopy, Field Ion and Scanning Electron Microscopy," WEAR, 26, pp. 75-93,... 

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