Category Archives: Software for Surface Analysis Systems

Information on software for control of surface analysis systems and data processing

CasaXPS – Data processing software for XPS

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X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy or XPS (also known as ESCA, an abbreviation for Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis), has become one of the most prevalent surface analysis techniques for the characterization of solid surfaces in vacuum.

XPS systems come with software. Frequently, however, the functionality isn’t sufficient to meet the needs of research scientists who routinely work with XPS spectra. CasaXPS (Computer Aided Surface Analysis for X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) was created to provide the additional functionality that these scientists required.

The surface analysis system companies that currently sell CasaXPS include:

FOCUS – XPS

Hiden – SIMS

Kore Technology – SIMS

KRATOS -XPS

OMICRON -XPS

PREVAC -XPS

RBD Instruments –AES, refurbished XPS

SPECS – XPS

VG Scienta/GammaData Scienta – XPS

PHI, Thermo, and JEOL(XPS) do not sell CasaXPS directly. However, many surface scientists who run PHI, Thermo, and JEOL XPS systems use CasaXPS for their XPS data processing. In fact, CasaXPS is so prevalent that Google Scholar identified about 900 papers that cited CasaXPS last year alone! For large companies that have surface analysis systems from multiple manufacturers, CasaXPS is a great way to compare data sets from different instruments. A site license for CasaXPS (whether for a company or a university) is very reasonably priced.

CasaXPS is also a data browser for VAMAS (ISO 14976) Surface Chemical Analysis Standard Data Transfer Format. Spectra presented in this ISO standard can be viewed, processed, and printed or exported as ASCII in products such as Word or Excel. CasaXPS also provides data processing for AES, SIMS, and image files.

For CasaXPS training and support, instruction manuals are available as printed or by this link: http://www.casaxps.com/help_manual/

Polymer fitting information is available at this link: http://www.casaxps.com/help_manual/curve_fitting_polymers.htm

In the U.S. an annual training course on CasaXPS is provided by John Grant’s Surfaceanalysis.org. The 2013 Surface Analysis short course program in Dayton, Ohio, USA will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 8-12 April 2013.

The first 3 days of the course will be on X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS/ESCA) including Data Processing. It will cover these topics in detail (see the course description http://www.surfaceanalysis.org/xps_and_data_processing.html). Examples of Data Processing will be given throughout the course and will illustrate processing with many different software programs, including PHI Multipak, Thermo Avantage, Service Physics ESCA 2007, QUASES Tougaard, and CasaXPS. This 3-day course is not designed to teach users how to use these software programs, but to illustrate their applications to various aspects of processing XPS/ESCA data. A comprehensive set of notes on XPS/ESCA will be provided for each course participant. Early-bird registrants may also order an optional copy of the 900-page book “Surface Analysis by Auger and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy,” edited by D. Briggs and J.T. Grant, 2003.

The last 2 days of the course will be hands-on training with CasaXPS for the processing of XPS/ESCA data (see the course description http://www.surfaceanalysis.org/casa.html). A complete 30-day trial copy of CasaXPS and appropriate XPS/ESCA data will be provided to attendees so they can follow the examples on their own laptops. Electronic copies of “An Introduction to XPS and AES” by Neal Fairley and a user manual will be provided as well. Attendees are encouraged to bring their laptops to the course. The software runs in a Microsoft Windows™ environment.

For more information on CasaXPS (and to view a video demonstration) please visit the RBD Instruments website at https://www.rbdinstruments.com/Products/CasaXPS.html

CasaXPS dialog box

Testing the DR11 chain

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On the older Physical Electronics (PHI) surface analysis systems that are still in service the communication between the computer and the electronic units is based on the old DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) DR11C protocol. In the late 70s and early 80s PHI used DEC PDP11 computers to control their line of Scanning Auger and X-ray Photoelectron (then called ESCA, now called XPS) Spectrometers. They transitioned to Perkin-Elmer 7000 series computers in the early-80s, then the Apollo workstations in the late 80s and finally to IBM-compatible PCs in the 90s. The one thing that all of these computers had in common was that the interface to the electronics was based on the DR11C protocol.

Occasionally an electronic unit in the DR11 chain can have a problem that results in the DR11 data bus being loaded down, which in turn can cause symptoms that indicate failure in another unit that is actually working properly. In these rare cases, a unit may work fine when tested on the bench, but fail when inserted into the DR11C daisy chain on the system.

For PHI systems that have the RBD 147 PC interface unit, it is easy to test the entire daisy chain using the diagnostics in the AugerScan program. Simply connect all of the units in the DR11C chain that you want to test and run the DR11C diagnostics in the Augerscan –System Diagnostics dialog box. DR11D reads in TTL data; DR11 ports A, B, and C all write TTL data out.

It is important to daisy chain only units that are on the same DR11 bus per the AugerScan and AugerMap software assignments. In the example below, all of the units use DR11A. Note that the DR11 male-to-female adapter is used to reverse the DR11 chain before it goes into the RBD 147 DR11D. Whenever testing a DR11 cable or port, the DR11D cable must be reversed 180 degrees from the normal configuration.

DR11 chain with RBD 147 interface unit

Testing the entire DR11 chain lets you know that all of the electronic units in the chain are not loading down the bus, and also that all of the cables have good contact. If the DR11 test fails, then you can test each cable one at a time and then add in one unit at a time until you find the cable or unit that is causing the failure. This can be a very useful technique when troubleshooting a problem where a unit may work fine on the bench but not when installed into the system’s electronics rack.

Here is a link to a detailed procedure on testing the DR11 ports on the RBD 147 PC interface unit  – RBD 147 DR11 Testing