XPS

Definition	X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy
Category	Technology » Tech Terms
Country/Region	Worldwide
Popularity
Type	Initialism

What does XPS mean?

X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) is a widely used surface analysis technique for analyzing the surface chemistry of a material. It can measure the elemental composition, chemical state, and electronic state of the elements within a material. XPS is a spectroscopic technique based on the photoelectric effect.
In XPS, the X-rays (photons) are fired onto a sample, and when electrons in the sample absorb enough energy, they are ejected with certain kinetic energy from the sample. A detector analyzes the energy of such ejected electrons and generates a plot of these energies and relative electron numbers.