Abstract In 1925 Pierre Auger reported on his observations of low energy
electrons associated with core-ionised atoms in cloud chamber experiments. He
was able to correctly identify the mechanism for their production, and such
electrons are now known as Auger electrons. Typically
Auger electrons have energies in the range 10 eV to 2 keV. The short distance
that such low energy electrons travel in solids ensures that Auger electrons
come from the surface layers. The data generated by the AES technique are
complex.
There are at least three electrons involved in the process, and there are many
possible configurations for the atom. These possibilities led to spectra that
are not readily interpreted in detail. Theory lags behind experiment in this
area. In principle, it should be possible to find information about the
chemical environment of atoms from Auger spectra. While there are clear
changes in spectral lineshapes, there is no simple way to go from the spectra
to an understanding of the chemical bonding of the atom. There are a number of
experiments currently underway which aim to improve our understanding of the
Auger process. Synchrotron experiments with tunable energy x-rays are
providing new insight. Experiments that use positrons to excite Auger emission
have also produced further recent understanding. Coincidence experiments
between photoelectrons and Auger electrons have also made recent advances.
Auger photoelectron coincidence spectroscopy reduces the complexity of Auger
spectra by only counting those electrons that occur as a consequence of
selected ionisations. The effect is to reduce the complexity of the spectra,
and to isolate processes that are often clouded by the simultaneous occurrence
of other effects.
The use of fricke dosimetry for low energy x-rays