| AVS 62nd International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Applied Surface Science | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session AS-WeM |
| Session: | Practical Surface Analysis II: Influence of Sample Preparation and Novel Sample Prep Techniques |
| Presenter: | Jonathan Counsell, Kratos Analytical Limited, UK |
| Authors: | J.D.P. Counsell, Kratos Analytical Limited, UK S.J. Coultas, Kratos Analytical Limited, UK C.J. Blomfield, Kratos Analytical Limited, UK D. Surman, Kratos Analytical Limited, UK C. Moffitt, Kratos Analytical Limited, UK |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
A thin layer of carbonaceous material is commonly found on the surface of air exposed samples - this layer is generally known as adventitious carbon. Adventitious carbon is generally comprised of a variety of relatively short chain, perhaps polymeric hydrocarbons species with small amounts of both singly and doubly bound oxygen functionality. Even brief exposures to atmosphere will produce a thin overlayer. During XPS analysis this overlayer has the unfortunate effect of attenuating the signal from the material underneath decreasing the signal strength and intensity. Furthermore, the presence of Carbon and Oxygen also add complexity to the peak fitting and assignment of high resolution spectra of these elements. For analysts it is seen as a hindrance when wanting to know the “real” surface chemistry
In recent times Argon cluster ions have been used to depth profile soft materials. The cluster ion sputters away sample material however the collision mechanism limits the propagation of damage into the sample bulk. This new method has been widely exploited with polymeric thin-films and biomaterials1. Here we will discuss the use of Argon cluster ions as a novel way to remove adventitious carbon to improve the information obtainable through analysis. Improvements in both sensitivity and detection limit will be discussed as well as improved spectral resolution. We will also demonstrate how Argon cluster cleaning can improve the spatial resolution of XP imaging. A variety of systems will be discussed to demonstrate the broadness of the application. A comparison with low energy monatomic Argon cleaning is also made including discussion ion incorporation and lattice damage.
[1] P. Cumpson, J. F. Portoles, N. Sano, and A. J. Barlow, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 31(2), 2013.