Measurements of the magnitude of crystalline effects in Auger electron spectroscopy

Diffraction of both the primary electron beam and the excited Auger electrons are known to have an influence on the measured peak intensities in Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). In this work, crystalline effects have been measured for a number of single‐crystal materials under conditions commonly used for AES, in an ESCALAB Mk II (VG Scientific, Ltd) fitted with a goniometer stage. Large variations in Auger peak intensity with crystal orientation were observed, reflecting both the symmetry and structure of the surface. It is shown that under normal operating conditions the diffraction of the primary electron beam is mainly responsible for the observed intensity variations but that diffraction of the Auger electrons cannot be neglected entirely. The significance of crystalline effects to quantitative AES is discussed.