Software for scanning Auger microscopy

SUMMARY The procedures embodied in a program suite designed for use with a computer controlled digital scanning Auger electron microscope are elucidated. These include techniques for the collection and subsequent processing of spectra, linescans and images. Schemes found to be the most efficient for the normalization of data to correct for both incident beam current fluctuations and sample surface topography are explained. Averaging and economical smoothing algorithms are considered as a means of improving the signal‐to‐noise ratio when working with high spatial resolution (probe diameter less than 150 nm), which necessarily limits the available beam current to less than about 3 nA. Emphasis is laid upon the desirability of obtaining quantitative information and to this end software routines for use in ascertaining surface chemical composition from spectra are described. These include numerical differentiation of spectra and modelling and subtraction of the secondary electron background from beneath an Auger feature. The transfer of data to a faster computer and more lengthy processing operations, for improving the quality of Auger maps, are also discussed.