The spectrometry of low-energy electrons, ie the precise determination of their energy distribution, makes it possible to analyze the chemical bonds of the elements that make up the surface of solid-state samples, to monitor the transformations that take place in them, and to deduce structural characteristics from the results.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is an excellent technique for surface analysis of solid samples. It gives information about chemical states of the topmost 6-10 nm thick surface layer. The instrument is equipped with an Al/Mg twin-anode, non-monochromatic radiation source manufactured by SPECS (Berlin) and a Phoibos 100 MCD-5 series hemispherical energy analyzer. The base vacuum in the instrument is 5×10^-9 mbar. The spectra obtained from the measurements are processed with the CasaXPS program.

This photoelectron spectrometer is connected to the SNMS/SIMS mass spectrometer by a common vacuum system, allowing complex analysis of samples under high-purity conditions.