Electronic and atomic structure of amorphous thin films with high-resolution XPS: Examples of applications & limitations

• Applications and limitations of XPS in relation to amorphous thin films are analyzed.
• Structure of As2S3 thin films is compared with the structure of bulk glasses.
• Kinetics of induced Ag dissolution in As2S3 thin films is studied by XPS.
• Oxidation on the surface of amorphous thin films is studied by XPS.
• Photoinduced structural changes on the surface of thin films are studied by XPS.

The use of high resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to study chalcogenide glass thin films is analyzed. It is shown that the method is an effective tool to explore different chemical environments in the films and control chemical composition of the surface. Examples of the method applications such as kinetics study of induced silver dissolution in the thin films and investigation of oxidation on the surface of the thin film are presented. Limitations of the method are shown on the example of photoinduced structural transformations in chalcogenide glass thin films.