Surface Microscopy & Microanalysis in an Industrial Research and Development Laboratory: GE–Research
Channel: Microanalysis Society
Date: 11/09/2020

Webinar presented by Vincent Smentkowski, Senior Scientist in the Structural Materials Organization at General Electric Research (GE-R) as part of the Microanalysis Society (MAS) webinar series on July 15, 2020.



Description: The top few nanometers of a sample is defined as the surface. The surface is where most chemical reactions take place. There are many instances where the surface of materials are designed/functionalized in order to optimize properties and improve device performance; there are other instances where the surface becomes compromised and the material/device performance degrades.

Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) are the three most common, and commercially available, surface analysis techniques. These techniques provide complementary information regarding the composition/microstructure of the surface of a sample. In this presentation, I will introduce AES, XPS, and ToF-SIMS, show typical data, and discuss how the data helped understand mechanisms and/or resolve material problems. I will also introduce techniques which we do not have in-house but have access to via external collaborations.


Keywords: Surface analysis, Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, time of flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy, atom probe tomography, AES, XPS, ToF-SIMS, APT.


The Microanalysis Society (MAS) is a non-profit professional association dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge concerning the principles, instrumentation, and applications of microanalysis down to the atomic level. More information at https://the-mas.org/.