Removing photoemission features from Auger-yield NEXAFS spectra

Two-dimensional spectral images, as opposed to one-dimensional spectra, are crucial for both recognizing the presence and verifying the removal of photoemission features in Auger-yield NEXAFS. We present a procedure for removing such photoemission features, which relies on describing the measured Auger yield NEXAFS image as three simple, one-dimensional spectra: NEXAFS, Auger, and XPS. This allows for a very successful and fast removal of even extreme photoemission features, as illustrated by four examples. The procedure requires no additional reference measurements other than photon flux, and provides a significant amount of additional information, such as NEXAFS, Auger and XPS spectra and images, which can be used to verify the validity of the underlying assumptions and success of the cleanup process. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.