New features in the low energy Auger spectra of the nitrides of titanium and vanadium

For Ti and V nitrides, two Auger features assigned to the M(3p)M(3d)M(3d) and M(3p)N(2p)M(3d) transitions have been previously observed in the energy range 20–40 eV. For the stoichiometric nitrides the total intensity of these features approaches zero, and this has led to a search for additional transitions responsible for the decay of the M(3p) hole. We have discovered two new features below 20 eV, and describe background subtraction procedures necessary to extract these features from the rapidly changing background. The new features appear at approximately the same energies in both the titanium and vanadium nitrides, with peaks in the N(E) spectrum near 5 and 15 eV. Both features are thought to involve the N(2s) level, the 5 eV feature has been assigned to a N(2s)N(2p)M(3d) transition and that at 15 eV could arise from a M(3p)N(2s)M(3d) transition. The disappearance of the previously observed M(3p) transitions in the stoichiometric nitride can be ascribed to a greater probability for the M(3p)N(2s)M(3d) transition.