Reduction of charging in surface analysis of insulating materials by AES

Practical methods are investigated to reduce the charging which is often observed during AES analysis of insulating samples with keV electrons. It is shown that the negative charge caused by electron beams with keV energy can be either avoided or considerably reduced by the use of an additional electron beam or by the supply of low‐energy (500 eV) positive ions. It is also reported and discussed that the state of reduced or vanishing charging obtained by both methods can be maintained for long periods of time.