Welcome to the fundamentals section of our XPS for beginners course. This hub will allow you to jump right into a particular topic, or just run through this short course in order.

In Fundamentals 1, we learn about the origins of the photoelectric effect and how we use this in XPS. We will also learn about what influences peak signal and size, and touch upon what determines peak shape.

In Fundamentals 2, we take a look at the governing factors behind binding energy shifts and how we can use these to determine chemical states. We also learn the origin of ‘Auger peaks’.

In Fundamentals 3, we learn about why certain peaks produce doublets and others singlets, plus we begin to look at how quantum mechanics influences our XPS spectra.

In Fundamentals 4, we jump into a topic which is often not explored as much as it should be – the origin of the XPS background, how we model it and what it can tell us about our sample.

In Fundamentals 5, we explore the many additional peaks that may appear in our XPS spectra – shake-up peaks, satellites, plasmons – as well as discussing the asymmetry exhibited by certain peaks and look at what causes this.

In Fundamentals 6, we discuss how to begin to approach data fitting, and why this should be thought about carefully before starting. We also look at some model lineshapes and consider which lineshapes are right for which applications.