Vol. 41, Issue 2, pp. 441-447 (2011)

Abstract

Chemical shifts in Auger electron spectra versus Ar⁺ ion sputtering time were analysed for various passivated interfaces, including SiO₂(100 nm)/Si, SiO₂(40 nm)/4H-SiC structures and native oxide/austenitic stainless steel 316LVM. On this basis, in-depth profiles of chemical composition were determined and the thickness of passivation nanofilms was estimated. Quantitative numerical analysis was performed by means of a developed computer procedure for both the AES spectrum background subtraction and peak decomposition with pseudo-Voigt functions using evolutionary algorithms.