ASTM_E_1078_-_14.pdf

Designation:E107814Standard Guide forSpecimen Preparation and Mounting in Surface Analysis1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E1078;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This guide covers specimen preparation and mountingprior to,during,and following surface analysis and applies tothe following surface analysis disciplines:1.1.1 Auger electron spectroscopy(AES),1.1.2 X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS and ESCA),and1.1.3 Secondary ion mass spectrometry(SIMS).1.1.4 Although primarily written for AES,XPS,and SIMS,these methods will also apply to many surface sensitiveanalysis methods,such as ion scattering spectrometry,lowenergy electron diffraction,and electron energy lossspectroscopy,where specimen handling can influence surfacesensitive measurements.1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded asstandard.No other units of measurement are included in thisstandard.1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2E983 Guide for Minimizing Unwanted Electron Beam Ef-fects in Auger Electron SpectroscopyE1127 Guide for Depth Profiling in Auger Electron Spec-troscopyE1523 Guide to Charge Control and Charge ReferencingTechniques in X-Ray Photoelectron SpectroscopyE1829 Guide for Handling Specimens Prior to SurfaceAnalysis2.2 ISO Standards:3ISO 181151 Surface chemical analysisVocabularyPart1:General terms and terms used in spectroscopyISO 181152 Surface chemical analysisVocabularyPart2:Terms used in scanning-probe microscopy3.Terminology3.1 DefinitionsFor definitions of surface analysis termsused in this guide,see ISO 18115-1 and ISO 18115-2.4.Significance and Use4.1 Proper preparation and mounting of specimens is par-ticularly critical for surface analysis.Improper preparation ofspecimens can result in alteration of the surface compositionand unreliable data.Specimens should be handled carefully soas to avoid the introduction of spurious contaminants in thepreparation and mounting process.The goal must be topreserve the state of the surface so that the analysis remainsrepresentative of the original.4.2 AES,XPS or ESCA,and SIMS are sensitive to surfacelayers that are typically a few nanometres thick.Such thinlayers can be subject to severe perturbations caused byspecimen handling(1)4or surface treatments that may benecessary prior to introduction into the analytical chamber.Inaddition,specimen mounting techniques have the potential toaffect the intended analysis.4.3 This guide describes methods that the surface analystmay need to minimize the effects of specimen preparationwhen using any surface-sensitive analytical technique.Alsodescribed are methods to mount specimens so as to ensure thatthe desired information is not compromised.4.4 Guide E1829 describes the handling of surface sensitivespecimens and,as such,complements this guide.5.General Requirements5.1 Although the handling techniques for AES,XPS,andSIMS are basically similar,there are some differences.Ingeneral,preparation of specimens for AES and SIMS requires1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E42 on SurfaceAnalysis and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E42.03 on Auger ElectronSpectroscopy and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy.Current edition approved Oct.1,2014.Published November 2014.Originallyapproved in 1990.Last previous edition approved in 2009 as E1078 09.DOI:10.1520/E1078-14.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.3Available from International Organization for Standardization(ISO),1,ch.dela Voie-Creuse,CP 56,CH-1211 Geneva 20,Switzerland,http:/www.iso.org.4The boldface numbers in parentheses refer to a list of references at the end ofthis standard.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 more attention because of potential problems with electron orion beam damage or charging,or both.This guide will notewhen specimen preparation is significantly different among thethree techniques.5.2 The degree of cleanliness required by surface sensitiveanalytical techniques is often much greater than for other formsof analysis.5.3 Specimens and mounts must never be in contact with thebare hand.Handling of the surface to be analyzed should beeliminated or minimized whenever possible.Fingerprints con-tain mobile species t