Chemical stability of polymers under argon gas cluster ion beam and x-ray irradiation

In this work, the authors examine chemical stability of polymers under x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiling coupled with argon gas cluster ion sputtering. The depth profiles measured for polystyrene, poly(3-dodecylthiophene), and poly(methyl methacrylate) thin films do not reveal changes in the XPS spectra due to cluster bombardment. Nevertheless, x-ray irradiation influences the shape of the sputter craters. The observed features are attributed to cross-linking or chain scission occurring in the polymers.