Thin Film Analysis

Grimm (1968) was the first to demonstrate the principle of using a glow discharge lamp for the analysis of flat samples.(1) Since the Grimm lamp appeared, low-pressure gas discharges have found many applications. Several authors have investigated the potentialities of such a discharge.(2–9) Principal applications are in the bulk analysis of metals or of nonconducting materials pressed into pellets with a conducting binder. Several other configurations have been described for bulk analysis, mostly to improve the sensitivity, e.g., hollow cathodes,(10,11) boosted lamps,(12,13) and magnetic field-enhanced glow discharges.(14)