|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Typical Applications Case Study:Effectiveness of an aqueous degreasing process evaluated and improved by XPS. XPS is frequently used to determine how well a chemical cleaning process is performing. A small nickel-chromium based metallic component is routinely cleaned using an aqueous degreasing process and subsequently undergoes a cutting process using an organic lubricant. If this lubricant remains on the surface of the metallic component in significant quantities, it not only interferes with the ease of laser welding to another subcomponent, but also renders the product unfit for functional use. It is possible to identify if the component has been cleaned or not using optical microscopy (as shown below) However, if the component is partially cleaned it will appear very similar to a fully cleaned component. Since XPS only analyses the top few atomic layers of a material it is ideal for evaluating and tuning the effectiveness of the aqueous degreasing process (process times, concentrations, use of agitation and ultrasonics). XPS can be equally applied to solvent degreasing, chemical etching and subsequent rinsing processes too. XPS was carried out on the Ni-Cr metallic components before and after an aqueous degreasing process to evaluate the effectiveness of this cleaning process. From the XPS analysis before after cleaning it is possible to conclude the following:
XPS can be used to tune the cleaning and rinsing processes minimising harmful residuals and improving the welding process yields and eliminating downstream functional issues. Our site expert on XPS is Dr Stephen Jenkins. |
Copyright 2024 LPD Lab Services Ltd. All rights reserved. |