On the use of elastic peak electron spectroscopy (EPES) tomeasure the H content of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films

Quasi-elastic scattering of 1–2 keV electrons is consideredwith respect to measuring theHcontent in hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C :H)materials. Interest in the technique lies in the fact that H cannot be typically detected by electron spectroscopic means (AES or XPS for instance). The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated and a quantification procedure is proposed. At the same time however, limitations of the technique (electron stimulated H desorption, low intensity of the H related signal and its spectral interference with the π-plasmon peak) are discussed.