Modern applications of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been used for over 50 years to make sensitive measurements of surface elemental and chemical composition. In recent years, the method’s use has grown exponentially, but few researchers tap into the full extent of information XPS can provide about materials and their properties. Baer et al. present a wide-ranging look at what XPS can offer, particularly with less commonly known approaches and analyses.

“Current uses of XPS focus primarily on the chemical composition of surfaces and interfaces, which are critically important,” said author Donald Baer. “However, XPS can also provide information about the properties and structure of an interface region, including the nanostructure and dielectric and electrical properties.”

After a half century of use, researchers are still designing new applications for XPS. The review addresses a range of these less common applications, including extracting information about the carbon bonds present, using cryocooling to analyze environmental and biological samples with minimal damage, and using electrical potential effects to make chemically resolved electrical measurements. Many of the analyses discussed do not require additional setup, making them accessible to laboratories with standard XPS systems.

“The hope is that the collection of information in this paper will inspire a few XPS analysts to use XPS in creative non-traditional ways to advance their research,” Baer said. “It is also our hope that the paper moves thinking about XPS beyond being only a chemical analysis tool. It can be used in creative ways to combine the chemical information with property information to extract information about a region of a material otherwise not available and critically important to modern technologies.”

Source: “What more can be done with XPS? – Highly informative, but underused approaches to XPS data collection and analysis,” by Donald R. Baer, Merve Taner Camci, David J. H. Cant, Scott A. Chambers, Hagai Cohen, Pinar Aydogan Gokturk, David J Morgan, Andrey Shchukarev, Peter M A Sherwood, Sefik Suzer, Sven Tougaard, John F Watts, Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology: A (2025). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0004543 .

This paper is part of the Reproducibility Challenges and Solutions II with a Focus on Surface and Interface Analysis Collection, learn more here .