PAES

Sample chamber Sketch of the Auger sample chamber with sample preparation chamber and lock

Sketch of the Auger sample chamber with sample preparation chamber and lock

Positron annihilation induced Auger electron spectroscopy (PAES) is a newly developed application for surface studies with high elemental selectivity and exceptional surface sensitivity. The instrument is operated at NEPOMUC.

In PAES, the emission of Auger electrons is initiated by positron-electron annihilation that leads to several major advantages compared with conventional electron induced AES. The main features are:

• topmost layer sensitivity
• no secondary electron background at the Auger peaks
• non-destructive technique

PAES is part of the surface spectrometer (SuSpect) which also enables sample preparation in UHV conditions, conventional AES and XPS. Examples for PAES studies are surfaces covered with sub-monolayers of foreign atoms, high-resolution determination of Auger line shapes, element-selective surface studies.