XPS Characterization, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy | XPS-ESCA Analytical Service

XPS-ESCA/XPS Characterization is an advanced analytical technique used to provide valuable chemical information about the composition, elemental and chemical state of the surface of materials. Using the innovative XPS-ESCA technology, our laboratory's skilled technicians provide highly-accurate elemental surface composition analysis and chemical state analysis.

Analytical Service Minimum order requirement: $250 per order. A $200 handling fee will be applied if order is below $250.

MSE Analytical Services offer professional XPS characterization services using Thermo Scientific ESCALAB 250Xi and Kratos AXIS-ULTRA DLD-600W

* Note: Data analysis service is not included in the list prices.

Highlights: High Quality Data, Competitive Pricing, Technical Support by Scientists.

Please contact sales@msesupplies.com for additional information and instructions on our Analytical Services program. Confirmation of the sample(s) requirements, SDS sheets and additional information is needed prior to processing the Analytical Service order. 

***Please do not ship any samples without authorization from MSE Supplies***

X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), also known as Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA), is an analysis technique used to obtain chemical information about the surfaces of solid materials. Both composition and the chemical state of surface constituents can be determined by XPS. Insulators and conductors can easily be analyzed in surface areas from a few microns to a few millimeters across.

The sample is placed in an ultrahigh vacuum environment and exposed to a low-energy, monochromatic x-ray source. The incident x-rays cause the ejection of core-level electrons from sample atoms. The energy of a photoemitted core electron is a function of its binding energy and is characteristic of the element from which it was emitted. Energy analysis of the emitted photoelectrons is the primary data used for XPS. When the core electron is ejected by the incident x-ray, an outer electron fills the core hole. The energy of this transition is balanced by the emission of an Auger electron or a characteristic x-ray. Analysis of Auger electrons can be used in XPS, in addition to emitted photoelectrons.

The photoelectrons and Auger electrons emitted from the sample are detected by an electron energy analyzer, and their energy is determined as a function of their velocity entering the detector. By counting the number of photoelectrons and Auger electrons as a function of their energy, a spectrum representing the surface composition is obtained. The energy corresponding to each peak is characteristic of an element present in the sampled volume. The area under a peak in the spectrum is a measure of the relative amount of the element represented by that peak. The peak shape and precise position indicates the chemical state for the element.

XPS is a surface sensitive technique because only those electrons generated near the surface escape and are detected. The photoelectrons of interest have relatively low kinetic energy. Due to inelastic collisions within the sample's atomic structure, photoelectrons originating more than 20 to 50 deg below the surface cannot escape with sufficient energy to be detected.

X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) is the most widely used surface analysis technique because it can be applied to a broad range of materials and provides valuable quantitative and chemical state information from the surface of the material being studied.

XPS-ESCA analytical services are typically accomplished by exciting a samples surface with mono-energetic Al k ñ x-rays causing photoelectrons to be emitted from the sample surface. An electron energy analyzer is used to measure the energy of the emitted photoelectrons. From the binding energy and intensity of a photoelectron peak, the elemental identity, chemical state, and quantity of a detected element can be determined.

The information XPS Spectroscopy provides about surface layers or thin film structures is important for many industrial and research applications where surface or thin film composition plays a critical role in performance including: nanomaterials, photovoltaics, catalysis, corrosion, adhesion, electronic devices and packaging, magnetic media, display technology, surface treatments, and thin film coatings used for numerous applications.