ISO 17974:2002

Overview

ISO 17974:2002 specifies a standardized method for calibrating the kinetic energy scales of high‑resolution Auger electron spectrometers (AES) used in surface chemical analysis. The standard defines how to measure and correct energy-scale offsets and small drifts, how to test energy scale linearity, and how to estimate the expanded calibration uncertainty at a 95% confidence level. Reference materials (metal foils of copper plus gold or aluminium) and defined peak positions are used to anchor the AES kinetic energy scale referenced to the Fermi level.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope and applicability
  • Applies only to instruments with an ion gun for sputter cleaning.
  • Not applicable to instruments with strongly non-linear scale errors, or with relative resolution poorer than 0.2% (constant ΔE/E) or 1.5 eV (constant ΔE).
  • Not for instruments requiring tolerance limits of ±0.05 eV or less, or with electron guns that cannot operate in 5–10 keV range.
• Reference peaks and energy range
  • Uses Cu M VV and Cu L VV peaks plus Au MNN or Al KLL for low/high energy anchors; valid to ~2250 eV (Au) or ~1550 eV (Al).
• Calibration procedure
  • Steps include obtaining and preparing reference foils, mounting and sputter‑cleaning, choosing spectrometer settings, and repeated peak measurements.
  • Initial calibration involves multiple repeat measurements (e.g., seven repeats) to determine repeatability standard deviation (σR) and to set sample‑positioning procedures.
  • Linearity tests use an intermediate energy peak and dedicated measurements to confirm scale linearity and quantify linearity error (ε).
• Uncertainty and drift
  • Defines a calibration schedule to confirm uncertainty at low and high energies, correct small drifts, and calculate expanded uncertainty at 95%, incorporating interlaboratory behaviour (but not every possible instrument defect).
• Annex material
  • Includes computational and smoothing guidance (e.g., peak fitting and least‑squares methods) and derivation of uncertainties.

Applications and users

• Surface analysis laboratories performing elemental and chemical‑state AES where accurate peak energies and chemical shifts (down to ~0.1 eV) are required.
• Calibration and metrology labs seeking standardized procedures to support ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation or to document calibration uncertainty.
• Instrument manufacturers and service engineers for establishing factory or field calibration procedures for high‑resolution Auger spectrometers.
• Materials scientists and surface chemists who depend on reliable kinetic‑energy calibration for chemical‑state identification.

Related standards

• ISO 18115 - Surface chemical analysis: Vocabulary (normative reference in ISO 17974)
• ISO/IEC 17025 - General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories (context for calibration uncertainty and reporting)

ISO 17974:2002 is essential reading when you need reproducible, traceable AES energy scale calibration, documented uncertainty, and a practical calibration schedule for high‑resolution surface chemical analysis.