Abstract :
A simple analytical model has been used to determine the effects of backscattered electrons on the analysis area in scanning
Auger microscopy. For normally incident electrons, the radius ra of the analysis area is calculated corresponding to detection of
80, 90, and 95% of the total Auger-electron signal as a function of two sample parameters, the backscattering factor R and the
Gaussian parameter sb describing the radial distribution of the backscattered electrons. For a reasonable range of these
parameters, ra depends linearly on sb and to a lesser extent on R. Values of ra can also be appreciably larger, by more than a factor
of 100, than the widths of the incident beam in modern instruments, and need to be considered in quantitative analyses of
particles and inclusions. Monte-Carlo calculations are needed for more realistic evaluations of the analysis area and to determine
this area for non-normal incidence of the electron beam.
# 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
