- sample heating up to 700 °C can be performed in different deposition chambers in vacuum or at gas pressures up to 5 Pa. Heating in 0.5 Pa O2 at 400 °C for 1-2 hours is regularly used to remove the adventitious hydrocarbon and hydroxide species from air exposed oxide surfaces,
- plasma treatments with oxygen or hydrogen gas can be performed with and without energetic particles. Oxide surfaces can be efficiently cleaned using an oxygen plasma. Generated surface peroxide species, which result in very high work functions, can be removed by heating at 200°C or above,
- water exposure in the ALD chamber. The samples are exposed to water pulses by repeatedly opening the ALD valve to the water reservoir for few microseconds while continuously pumping the chamber,
- Ar ion sputtering in the XPS chamber. The stage can be rotated during sputtering to reduce shadowing effects.
Ex-situ heat treatments can be performed in a Nabertherm R 50/250/12 furnace up to temperatures of 1200 °C in air or Ar/H2 gas flow.
