THE INFLUENCE OF OXIDE SURFACE-LAYERS ON BULK ELECTRON-PROBE MICROANALYSIS OF OXYGEN - APPLICATION TO TI-SI-O COMPOUNDS

This paper discusses a generalized method to measure with the electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) the oxygen in a material containing a surf ace oxide layer. The continuum background is the most difficult to mea sure, particularly for materials in which oxygen-free samples cannot b e produced. The method depends on the preparation of either oxygen-fre e samples or well characterized oxygen-containing samples. Specific ap plication of the method to the Ti-Si-O system is discussed. In additio n, measurements of oxide surface-layer thickness of 3.6-8.0 nm on Ti a nd Ti-Si compounds were obtained using EPMA and a scanning Auger micro probe (SAM). The nature of the oxide surface layers was shown using x- ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).