Systematic and collaborative approach to problem solving using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

TLDR

X‑ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) users, from junior to senior, have collaborated over years through workshops within the CasaXPS framework, fostering a multidisciplinary approach to surface‑analysis problem solving. This work aims to formalize the XPS data‑processing concept that emerged from these workshop discussions. The authors organized week‑long workshops at IMN and Roscoff, gathering XPS users to design experiments and develop data‑treatment methods that underpin the CasaXPS processing paradigm. The resulting methodology has evolved through workshops and now constitutes the core philosophy of the CasaXPS spectral‑data processing paradigm.

Abstract

The methodology presented within this work is a result of years of interactions between many junior and senior X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) users operating within the CasaXPS spectral processing and interpretation program framework. In particular, discussions arising from a series of workshops have been a significant source for developing the overall XPS data processing concept and are the motivation for creating this work. These workshops organized by the Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel (IMN), Nantes gather both experienced and novice users of XPS for a week of discourse in conceptual experiment design and the resulting data processing. However, the framework constructed and utilized within these workshops encouraged the dissemination of knowledge beyond XPS data analysis and emphasized the importance of a multi-disciplinary collaborative approach to surface analysis problem-solving. The material presented here embodies data treatment originating from data made available to the first CNRS Thematic Workshop presented at Roscoff 2013. The methodology described here has evolved over the subsequent workshops in 2016 and 2019 and currently represents the philosophy used in CasaXPS spectral data processing paradigm.