Following the propagation of erroneous x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy peak fitting through the literature. A genealogical approach
This study considers how poor x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) peak fitting in the scientific literature is both affected by previous precedent and affects future published work. It focuses on a highly cited paper (the “Subject” paper) from a respected journal that contains incorrect S 2p peak fits. This paper was studied in a genealogical fashion vis-à-vis the XPS peak fitting in its “child,” “parent,” “grandparent,” and “great-grandparent” papers. Interestingly, precedents were not followed to a high degree between parent and child papers. However, in many cases, even when the authors of a study did not follow the incorrect precedent that they cited, they still incorrectly fit their data. Thus, not necessarily for good reasons, the effects of poor XPS peak fits on future generations of papers may be less than some experts had expected or feared. In many cases, older papers appear to contain better XPS peak fitting than newer ones.
Authors
- Daniel E. Austin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3280-6135)
- Joshua W. Pinder
- Brennen Clark (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5878-9857)
- William M. Skinner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9606-023X)
- Matthew R. Linford (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0460-041X)
- A.E. Hughés
- George H. Major (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6484-8049)
- Sarah L. Harmer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5627-5500)
- Christopher D. Easton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1981-3779)
- Alberto Herrera‐Gómez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9101-4058)
- Donald R. Baer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0875-5961)
- Mark C. Biesinger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5714-4668)
Institutions
- Brigham Young University (US)
- Western University (CA)
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (US)
- Flinders University (AU)
- University of South Australia (AU)
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals (AU)
- CSIRO Manufacturing (AU)
- Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (MX)
- Texas Instruments (United States) (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A Vacuum Surfaces and Films
- Published
- 2024-11-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0004093
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Electron and X-Ray Spectroscopy Techniques
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.07