Computer-controlled Auger spectrometer

Abstract

The present paper describes the system configuration of a computerized Auger electron spectrometer, which incorporates various schemes of complicated process control as well as automatic data acquisition, reduction, and retrieval. Central to the system is a sensor-based computer which controls the spectrometer and interfaces with a host computer where large-scale computations can be performed. With a graphic terminal as its operator's station, the system can operate in either automatic or interactive modes. Examples of the process control implemented for the system are given, accompanied by the circuit adaptations necessary for hardware interfacing. Spectral data obtained by the system indicate that the rate of data acquisition has increased by two orders of magnitude with a signal reproducibility of better than 0.5%. Experiments with controlled surface contamination suggest that the spectrometer sensitivity can be doubled by time averaging a number of spectra measured under identical conditions.