Chemical state imaging of insulators using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy is a well known surface sensitive technique used to obtain both elemental and chemical information about the first 1-10 atomic layers of a substrate. The technique involves the bombardment of a sample with x-rays which cause core level electrons, called photoelectrons, to be ejected. The photoelectron's binding energy, E;XPS imaging is a relatively new capability evolved from small area analysis. Its most important application is insulator analysis due to the fact that charge compensation is straightforward with XPS. The characterization of an XPS imaging system for the analysis of insulating materials is a multi-stepped process. Therefore, this research has focused on the characterization of the charge neutralization system, the determination of any imaging artifacts and the characterization of the instrument's reproducibility in preparation for the quantitative evaluation of a patterned SiO...