about chemical bonding and molecular structure. This information can be used to detect th e types of organic materials present on the surface. 4.3.2.2. Raman spectroscopy (RS) [7, 8] It is used to examine the energy levels of molecules that cannot be well character-ized via infrared spectroscopy. Th e two techniques, however, are complimentary. In the RS, a sample is irradiated with a strong monochromatic light source (usu-ally a laser). Most of the radiation will scatter or "reflect off' the sample at the same energy as the incoming laser radiation. However, a small amount will scat-ter from the sample at a wavelength slightly shifted from the original wavelength. It is possible to study the molecular structure or determine the chemical identity of the sample. It is quite straightforward to identify compounds by spectral library search. Due to extensive library spectral information, the unique spectral finger-print of every compound, and the ease with which such analyses can be per-formed, the RS is a very useful technique for various applications. An important application of the RS is the rapid, nondestructive characterization of diamond, diamond-like, and amorphous-carbon films. 4.3.2.3. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) / energy dispersive X-ra y analysis (EDX) [7, 8] The SEM produce s detailed photographs that provide important information about the surface structure and morphology of almost any kind of sample. Image analy-sis is often the first and most important step in problem solving and failure analy-sis. With SEM, a focused beam of high-energy electrons is scanned over the sur-face of a material, causing a variety of signals, secondary electrons, X-rays, photons, etc. - each of which may be used to characterize the material with re-spect to specific properties . The signals are used to modulate the brightness on a CRT display, thereb y providing a high-resolution map of the selected material property. It is a surface imaging technique, but with Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) it can identify elements in the near-surface region. This technique is most useful for imaging particles. 4.3.2.4. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) [7, 8] Incident X-rays are used to excite surface atoms. The atoms relax through the emission of an X-ray with energy characteristic of the parent atoms and the inten-sity proportional to the amount of the element present. It is a bulk or "total mate-rials" characterization technique for rapid, simultaneous, and nondestructive analysis of elements having an atomic number higher than that of boron. Tradi-tional bulk analysis applications include identifying metals and alloys, detecting trace elements in liquids, and identifying residues and deposits. 4.3.2.5. Total-reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) [7, 8] It is a special XRF technique that provides extremely sensitive measures of the elements present in a material's outer surface. Applications include searching for metal contamination in thin films on silicon wafers and detecting picogram-levels o f arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium on hazardous, chemical fume hoods.