Oxygen environmental Auger electron spectroscopy:: Eliminating the electron beam effects on Al2O3 during Auger analysis

The charging phenomena and charge compensation under electron beam irradiation have been studied on alumina using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Electron-beam effects, observed in AES as oxygen depletion, contamination from residual gas, and charge-up, can be efficiently reduced in an oxygen environment, of less than or equal to 5 X 10(-8) Torr O-2. The oxygen environmental Auger electron spectroscopy reveals an inherent relation between the oxygen depletion and the charge-up of alumina: Oxygen depletion due to electron-stimulated desorption, preceding the other electron-beam effects, is the primary cause of the charge-up of alumina. The charging phenomena of alumina and the efficiency of the O-2 environment for charge compensation can be interpreted in terms of the general energy band schema. (C) 2003 American Vacuum Society.