Acquiring an XPS Alignment

XPS alignment tips:

  1. For 15-255G, 25-260, 25-270 cylindrical, you may want to first perform an AES elastic peak alignment to ensure that the sample is at the focal point of the analyzer. For SCA systems, line up the sample to the center of the front viewport.

  2. Lower the X-ray source to ½” from the sample.

  3. Make sure that the X-ray source is on and set to 100 watts at 10kV minimum. The maximum power limit for the 04-151 10kV X-ray source generator is 400 watts at 10kV. The maximum recommended power limits for the 04-500/548 X-ray source generator is 300 watts at 15kV, per anode.

  4. Set the aperture(s) on the 15-255G analyzer to XPS. For 25-260 and 25-270 analyzers, set both apertures to large (center).

  5. Set the technique to XPS.

  6. Select the New Alignment command from the Acquisition menu (or click on the appropriate toolbar button).

  7. Set the upper limit and lower limit binding energies to scan a range that will display a known peak on your sample. If you do not know what elements your sample is composed of, acquire a survey and determine the largest peak position and enter those values.

  8. If you have a 20-810 analyzer control, set the pass energy to 100-pass energy. If you have a 20-805 analyzer control, you must manually change the pass energy on the 20-805 (the pass energy value entered in the software is for bookkeeping purposes only). For the 10-360 analyzer, set the pass energy to approximately 100. For that analyzer, only specific pass energies and eV per step combinations are possible. This ensures that the proper energy distribution across the detector is maintained.

  9. Acquire the alignment and a peak(s) will be displayed. The maximum peak position and counts are updated each sweep. If you have a 32-100 or 80-365 electron multiplier supply, the computer automatically sets the correct multiplier voltage. If you have a 20-075 electron multiplier supply, you must manually set the voltage to the correct value. If you are uncertain of this value, simply increase the multiplier voltage until no further increase in counts is noted. This value is typically 1800 to 2200 volts.

  10. Being careful not to touch the sample with the X-ray source. Adjust the X-ray source position (X, Y, and Z) for maximum signal height.

The sample is now aligned. You can now acquire other XPS data, such as surveys, multiplexes and depth profiles.

You can now acquire XPS data.

XPS Acqusition Procedures