Application of factor analysis to the AES and XPS study of the oxidation of chromium

✍ Scribed by C. Palacio; H. J. Mathieu

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 459 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0142-2421
• DOI: 10.1002/sia.740160135

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and factor analysis of the MVV Auger spectra and the Cr 2p XPS spectra were applied to study quantitatively the initial stages of the oxidation of polycrystalline chromium. Application of factor analysis allows the identification of up to three real factors. According to the previous works on chromium oxidation, the factors responsible for variations in data were identified as being due to pure metal, chromium oxide (Cr~2~O~3~) and chemisorbed oxygen, respectively. The very first stages of the oxidation, <1 L exposures, were found to be characterized by only two factors. Since two standard spectra are known (i.e. metal and chromium oxide spectra), the quantification of all three real factors mentioned above is possible by the application of target testing procedures.