This practice covers a procedure for checking some of the operating characteristics of an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer.

Formerly under the jurisdiction of Committee E42 on Auger Electron Spectroscopy and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, this practice was withdrawn without replacement in November 2011 due to its limited use by the industry.

This practice should first be used to establish the operating characteristics of a particular X-ray photoelectron spectrometer at a time when the spectrometer performance is known to be optimum. Hence, the spectrometer settings in Section 5 and the expected performance figures given in Section 7 are to be taken only as guides, to be supplanted by the behavior of the user’actual spectrometer.

Subsequently, this practice should be used as a routine check, performed at frequent intervals with the same instrument settings, and the results compared with those obtained in 4.1. Significant deviation from optimum performance may indicate that the spectrometer requires recalibration or other maintenance.

Typical analysis settings should be used with this practice. The use of settings not specified by this practice is left to the discretion of the user, however, the settings should be recorded in accordance with Practice E 996 and the same settings should be used consistently whenever this practice is repeated, so that the results obtained will be directly comparable to previous results.

1.1 This practice covers a procedure for checking some of the operating characteristics of an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer. Tests herein provide checks of the repeatability of intensity measurements and the drift of the intensities with time. This practice may be conducted at the same time as the spectrometer energy calibration using Practice E 2108.

1.2 LimitationsThis practice is meant to augment, and not to replace, the calibration procedures recommended by the manufacturer of the spectrometer. This practice is also not meant to be used as a means of comparison between X-ray photoelectron spectrometers, but only as a self-consistent check of the operating characteristics of an individual spectrometer.

1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.