Two-dimensional hydrogen behaviors on solid surfaces studied by hydrogen microscope

Recently, much work has been done to study hydrogen behavior on solid surfaces for applications in fuel cells, semiconductor devices, and diamond-like carbon films. We have developed a hydrogen microscope making use of electron stimulated desorption (ESD) spectroscopy. A thermal-field emission type electron gun set to a low-energy range (<1 keV) is used to obtain a beam size less than 100 nm in diameter. A pulsed beam has been used to measure the time-of-flight (TOF) to detect desorbed ions from specimen surfaces. Scanning the pulsed beams across solid surfaces, a two-dimensional distribution image of hydrogen atoms can be obtained. This paper reviews some capabilities of the hydrogen microscope and a chemical state analysis for H and O adsorbed by different elements on a surface.