Soft X rays and fast atoms as image generators in photoelectron microscopy

Abstract

The magnetically collimated photoelectron spectromicroscope (PESM) was initially developed with the He I light source^1,2. Although one of us³ has previously mentioned the successful use of other resonance lines, of a soft X-ray source and of metastable atoms as alternative ionizing sources, at that time no electron energy analysis had been performed using the X-ray source to decide in what proportion primary photoelectrons, Auger electrons and inelastically-scattered electrons contributed to the observed images. We now have this information and can compare the performance of these different sources, particularly in the direction of chemical analysis across a complex object. We also report for the first time energy-selected imaging using a fast-atom bombardment source.