Charge compensation and binding energy referencing in XPS analysis

Throughout the evolution of XPS, the ability to compensate for surface char ging and accurately calibrate the binding energy scale, particularly with e lectrically inhomogeneous samples, has remained one of the most intractable problems. The last decade, however, has seen some quite significant advanc es in this area. Best exemplified perhaps by the Kratos (UK) 'in the lens' electrostatic mir ror/electron source coupled with a magnetic immersion lens, a number of con cepts have been advanced that take a quite different conceptual approach to charge compensation, They differ in a number of fundamental ways from the electron hood-type compensators, which are widely used and historically are absolutely essential with instruments based on monochromatized sources, Ev en more recent has been the use of combined ion and electron flood systems. Thus, modern approaches to compensation represent a more sophisticated und erstanding both of how charging arises and how it may be mitigated to impro ve the accuracy and utility of XPS spectra, Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.