Surface Chemical Analysis (SCA) techniques use advanced chemical analysis instrumentation to measure the surface regions of solid materials and viscous oils. The SCA techniques that are widely used have depths of information that range from 1 nm to 1,000 nm. The SCA techniques that report information from depths less than 10 nm include XPS, AES, D-SIMS, ToF-SIMS, TXRF, REELS, and GD-OES.
Various physical analysis techniques directly measure the shape of a surface being analyzed. The depths or heights measured can range from 1 angstrom to 1-5 microns. These physical measurment methods include: SEM, FiB, AFM, XRD, XRR, RBS, TEM, and STEM. Some these physical measurement techniques require removal of the upper layers or polishing to produce a thin disk that is 10-100 microns thick.
XPS is one of many Surface Chemical Analysis Methods shown here
XPS instruments produce X-ray Beams ranging from 5-1,000 microns
This chart shows Diameters of the Analysis Beams of Surface Chemical Analysis Methods and the Depth of Information provided by those SCA Methods
