AES

Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) measures the kinetic energies of Auger electrons, which emit a substance when excited with electron radiation. The kinetic energy of the Auger electron is characteristic of individual chemical elements and can therefore be used for elemental analysis.

An electron is knocked out of an inner shell by the electron bombardment and filled from a higher level by an electron. The energy released is either emitted as X-rays or transferred without radiation to another (neighbouring) electron, which is then released.