AES Webinar

Auger Electron Spectroscopy is a versatile analytical technique that is especially useful for analyzing and identifying very small features. With a beam diameter on the order of 10nm and a shallow escape depth on the same dimension or lower, this technique can analyze the smallest volume of material of any technique. Auger can detect all elements except H and He with a detection limit as low as 0.1% atomic. Typical analyses can produce surveys for elements, lateral line scans or elemental maps of elemental intensities across the analyzed area, and also compositional depth profiles. It is a semi-quantitative technique that can be further calibrated for better accuracy with the use of standards. Auger is commonly used for identifying small particles and other defects on metals, alloys, semiconductors and MEMS devices. It is also used to determine critical oxide thicknesses of important industrial alloys such as electropolished stainless steel and nitinol, hence it is particularly relevant to the implantable medical device industry. It is an excellent complementary technique to the more widely used SEM-EDS. It has proven to be a versatile technique for many problem-solving scenarios, using the combination of excellent imaging, good sensitivity and in-depth analysis.