Critical Upgrade of X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer

x射线光电子能谱（XPS）是一种重要的表面分析仪器，用于测量样品在x射线照射下表面发射的电子的结合能。由于每种元素都表现出独特的电子结合能，因此该技术可用于识别近表面区域的原子性质和化学键态。目前的XPS系统是在2000年圭尔夫大学电化学技术中心（ETC）成立时购买的；在过去的17年里，它被广泛使用。该设备的一个挑战是其软件是基于dos的。数据一旦获得，就必须通过软盘导出到另一台计算机上，多年来，我们在那里运行各种免费软件程序来进行数据分析。近年来，该系统变得越来越难以维护。一些问题包括冷却系统漏水、漂移、电子不稳定、灵敏度和分辨率下降，以及当新计算机无法与现有电子设备接口时维护DOS系统的简单困难。这个XPS系统不能再拼凑在一起维持功能。提议的XPS升级是迫切需要的，以支持由圭尔夫大学NSERC资助的一些研究项目。

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is an essential surface analysis instrument that measures the binding energy of electrons emitted from the surfaces of samples when irradiated by X-rays. Since every element manifests unique electron binding energies, this technique is used to identify the atomic nature and the chemical bonding states in the near-surface region. The current XPS system was purchased in 2000 when the Electrochemical Technology Centre (ETC) at the University of Guelph was formed; it has been extensively used over the past 17 years. One challenge with the equipment is that the software is DOS-based. Once acquired, data must be exported via floppy disk to another computer where we have, over the years, run various freeware programs to conduct data analysis. In recent years, the system has become increasingly difficult to maintain. Some issues include water leaks in the cooling system, drifts, electronic instabilities, degraded sensitivity and resolution, and the simple difficulty of maintaining a DOS system when new computers are unable to interface with the existing electronics. This XPS system can no longer be pieced together to maintain functionality. The proposed XPS upgrade is urgently required to support a number of research programs funded by NSERC at the University of Guelph.