Auger electron spectro-microscopy

The short escape depth of Auger electrons, the high lateral resolution, the chemical information about superficial elemental composition and the possibility of measuring the indepth distribution of elements (with utilisation of the ion sputtering) are the main advantages of the Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). When combined with the scanning electron miscroscope, AES can provide with image signal suitable for spectro-micrographs showing distribution of elements over the surface, i.e. the chemical mapping. This mapping can be advantageously compared with other SEM image signals in order to faciliate their interpretation