Auger spectroscopy of carbon on nickel
1971; Elsevier BV; Volume: 25; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/0039-6028(71)90148-8
ISSN1879-2758
Autores Tópico(s)Semiconductor materials and devices
ResumoThe Auger spectrum of almost clean nickel is presented, in which twelve Auger and associated peaks have been resolved, for a primary electron energy of 2300 eV. Most of the observed peaks could be identified satisfactorily, but uncertainty remains about two of them. A peak arising from the L2M2,3V transition was not observed, although other peaks based on L2 ionization were resolved. Two distinct types of fine structure associated with the carbon Auger peak were observed, and attributed to Ni3C and to graphite on the surface, respectively. On heating above about 400°C, the Ni3C decomposed, whereupon a continuous transition of one type of fine structure into the other occurred. At the same time a doublet of low-energy peaks at about 13 and 18 eV appeared and increased as the amount of graphite on the surface increased. The doublet was shown to be associated with graphite by comparison with the results of Scheibner et al on single-crystal graphite, and also by recording secondary electron energy distributions from amorphous graphite and from carbon fibres. Ni3C was formed by quenching the nickel from about 900 °C, presumably by diffusion of carbon from just inside the foil to the surface, which in this context acts similarly to a grain boundary.
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