A Practical Procedure for Surface Protection of a Bulk Specimen in the Air

We propose the Same Surface Contact Method (SSCM) that is useful to protect the surface of a specimen against contamination and oxidation in the air. The contamination and the oxidization of the surfaces of Fe-Si-Al films were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Surface oxidation gradually proceeded in the air, while the increase in surface contamination was restrained for a long time in the air by SSCM. It was also found that the surfaces could be protected against oxidization in the nitrogen atmosphere.