AES Investigations of Passive Films on Iron and Iron Base Alloys^★

Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) combined with the ion sputtering technique has recently proved to be a powerful method of investigation of passive films. The recent findings in the field of passivation of iron and its alloys, which have been obtained by using AES, are summarized. The experimental data concerning the composition profiles of the films are discussed, and the effects of both the solution and the matrix components on the composition of the films are emphasized. The problems arising from the effects of ion sputtering in the interpretation of data, as well as quantitative aspects are considered separately.