ISO 10810:2019

Overview

ISO 10810:2019 - Surface chemical analysis: X‑ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) - Guidelines for analysis provides practical guidance for operators of XPS instruments. The standard walks users through the full analysis workflow: specimen handling and mounting, spectrometer calibration and set‑up, acquisition of wide and narrow scans, quantification approaches, depth profiling considerations and preparation of the final test report. It is intended as a hands‑on guide to improve consistency and reliability of routine XPS measurements across research, industrial and quality‑control laboratories.

Key technical topics and requirements

• Specimen characterization and handling - guidance on many specimen forms (single crystals, films, multilayers, powders, fibres, porous/non‑porous samples, semiconductor wafers, nanoparticles) and on treatments such as heating, fracture, ion bombardment and exposure to gases/liquids.
• Instrument characterization and checks - system health checks, mechanical and vacuum integrity, sample holder considerations and recommended instrument checks before analysis.
• Calibration requirements - procedures for calibration of the binding‑energy scale and intensity response (IERF), tests for intensity linearity, lateral and depth resolution checks, and recommendations for charge correction.
• Instrument set‑up and acquisition - advice on optimum settings, system configuration, X‑ray source conditions, energy resolution, energy range, step size and acquisition modes for both wide (survey) and narrow high‑resolution scans.
• Data analysis and quantification - identification and chemical‑state determination from narrow scans, quantitative composition calculation, background treatments (including use of Tougaard extrinsic background), and cautions on using the C 1s peak as only an approximate binding‑energy reference.
• Depth profiling - discussion of ion bombardment approaches, including mention of ionised clusters of inert gas atoms for depth profiling in modern practice.
• Test reporting - recommended content for final reports to ensure transparency and reproducibility.

Practical applications

ISO 10810:2019 is directly applicable to:

• Materials and surface scientists performing XPS for research and development.
• Industrial quality‑control and failure‑analysis labs assessing coatings, contaminants, corrosion layers, catalysts, polymers, semiconductors and nanoparticles.
• Analytical service providers and instrument engineers implementing or auditing XPS measurement procedures.
• Laboratories seeking consistent, documented workflows for regulatory compliance or cross‑laboratory comparison.

Who should use this standard

• XPS instrument operators and laboratory managers
• Surface analysis specialists and analytical chemists
• Standards bodies and accreditation assessors
• R&D teams in electronics, coatings, catalysis, and nanomaterials

Related standards

ISO 10810 complements other surface analysis and spectroscopy standards (refer to ISO/TC 201 publications). Users should consult instrument manufacturer guidance and relevant normative references cited in ISO 10810 when implementing procedures.

Keywords: ISO 10810, XPS guidelines, X‑ray photoelectron spectroscopy, surface chemical analysis, binding energy calibration, Tougaard background, depth profiling, XPS quantification.