Surface analysis is the process of analyzing the surface of a solid to determine the topography, physical properties, chemical composition, and chemical states of a material's surface.
Generally, these techniques involve irradiating a sample with a probe (such as a beam of electrons, X-rays, or ions) and analyzing the resulting signals (e.g., emitted electrons, photons, or scattered particles) to determine its properties.
There are several types of surface analysis: electron detection, X-ray detection, radiation detection, visible light detection, ion detection, luminescence detection, photon counting, and scanning with a probe.
Surface analysis methods based on electron detection or interaction include:
- Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
- Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)
- X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometry (XPS)
- Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA)
- Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES)
- Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED)
- Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction (RHEED)
- Electron Energy Loss Spectrometry (EELS)
- Ultra-Violet Photoelectron Spectrometry (UPS)
Surface analysis methods based on X-ray detection or interaction include:
- X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF)
- X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)
- Time resolved X-ray diffraction (TR-XRD)
- Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS/EDX)
- Wavelength dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (WDS/WDX)
- Electron Probe Micro Analyzer (EPMA)
- Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS)
- Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE)
- Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence (TRXF)
- Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS)
Surface analysis methods based on light detection include:
- Infrared Spectroscopy (IR)
- Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)
- Cathode Luminescence (CL)
- Photoluminescence (PL)
Surface analysis methods based on ion detection include:
- Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS)
- Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry (GDMS)
- Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS)
- Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA)
- Nuclear Reaction Analysis (NRA)
- Field Ion Microscope (FIM)
Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques include:
- Scanning Tunnelling Microscope (STM)
- Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)
- Field Emission Electron Microscope (FEM)
- Friction Force Microscope (FFM)
- Magnetic Force Microscope (MFM)
- Scanning Maxwell Stress Microscope (SMM)
