Sample Type

Characteristic

Sensitivity

Available Techniques

Solid - Bulk

Composition

from major down to 0.1%

Electron Microprobe (EMP);

Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX);

Wavelength Dispersive X-ray (WDX);

X-ray Fluorescence (XRF)

Solid - Bulk

Crystal Structure

---

X-ray Diffraction;

Electron Diffraction

Solid -Bulk

Trace Impurities

ppm, ppb

Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS);

Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometer (GDMS);

Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA);

Sputtered Neutral Mass Spectrometry (SNMS);

Particle-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE);

Laser Emission Microprobe (LEM);

Spark Source Mass Spectrometer (SSMS)

Solid - Bulk

Localized Defects/Impurities

---

Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM);

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM);

Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM)

Solid - Surface

Composition

from major down to 0.1%

Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA);

Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES)

Solid - Surface

Composition

trace

Surface SIMS;

Ion Scattering Spectrometry (ISS)

Solid - Surface

Structure

---

TEM;

Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED)

Solid - Film

Composition Vs. Depth

from major down to 0.1%

AES; ESCA;

Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS);

Neutron Depth Profiling (NDP)

Solid - Film

Composition Vs. Depth

trace

SIMS; SNMS; NDP

Solid - Film

Structure

---

X-ray Diffraction; TEM

Solid - Film

Thickness

< 1 micron

RBS; TEM

Liquid

Composition, Inorganic

trace

AA;

Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP)

Liquid

Composition, Inorganic

ultratrace

ICP/Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)

Liquid

Composition, Organic

from major down to trace

Gas Chromatography (GC); GC/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS);

IR Spectroscopy (IR);

Fourier Transform IR (FTIR) Analysis

Liquid

Thermal Properties

---

Thermal Analyzers

Gas

Composition

from major down to trace

GC; GC/MS; IR; gas sensors; MS

Technique

Primary Beam

Energy

Detected Entity

Applications

Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEEDS)

Electron

20-200 eV

Electron

Surface Structure

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

Electron

300-30,000 eV

Electron

Surface Morphology

Electron Microprobe (EMP)

Electron

1-30 keV

X-ray

Surface Region Composition

Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES)

Electron

500-10,000 eV

Electron

Surface Layer Composition

Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)

Electron

100-400 keV

Electron

High Resolution Structure

Scanning TEM (STEM)

Electron

100-400 keV

Electron,

X-ray

Imaging, X-ray Analysis

Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS)

Electron

100-400 keV

Electron

Small local area composition

Ion Scattering Spectrometry (ISS)

Ion

500-2000 eV

Ion

Surface composition

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS)

Ion

1-15 keV

Ion

Trace composition vs. depth

Secondary Neutral Mass Spectrometry (SNMS)

Ion

1-15 keV

Atom

Trace composition vs. depth

Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE)

Ion

>= 1 keV

X-ray

Trace composition

Scanning Ion Microscope (SIM)

Ion

5-20 keV

Electron

Surface characterization

Rutherford Backscatter-ing Spectroscopy (RBS)

Ion

> 1 MeV

Ion

Composition vs. depth

X-ray Fluorescence (XRF)

Photon

> 1 keV

X-ray

Composition

X-ray Diffraction (XRD)

Photon

> 1 keV

X-ray

Crystal Structure

X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS or ESCA)

Photon

> 1 keV

Electron

Surface Composition

Laser Microprobe (LMP)

Photon

Laser

Ion

Composition

Laser Ion Mass Spectroscopy (LIMS)

Photon

Laser

Ion

Composition

Laser Emission Microprobe (LEM)

Photon

Laser

Light

Trace Elements

Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA)

Neutron

Reactor

Gamma ray

Bulk Composition