XPS analysis, from vendor file to chemical state
Atlas covers the full XPS workflow: import from every major vendor, inspection of acquisition conditions and counting statistics, energy referencing with a recorded basis and uncertainty, tiered survey identification, constrained core-level fitting with a uniqueness test, and comparison with literature values and multiplet simulations.
What Atlas does with XPS data
Every analysis runs as a documented Block with recorded parameters, so the same result can be reproduced, reviewed, and compared across samples.
One workflow for every vendor
VAMAS, PHI MultiPak, SPECS Prodigy, Scienta Omicron, and CasaXPS text exports all land on the same metadata schema, so a lab with a mixed instrument fleet runs one workflow.
Inspection before interpretation
Atlas reports acquisition conditions and counting statistics first, and refuses to compute statistics the measured ordinate cannot support.
Energy referencing with a receipt
Reference to Au, Ag, or Cu with ISO 15472 values, to a fitted Fermi edge, or to adventitious carbon, with the basis and uncertainty of every shift written into the dataset.
Constrained fits, checked for uniqueness
Templates link spin–orbit doublets and require a reason for every component. A perturbation test then shows whether the data can actually distinguish them.
Tiered element identification
Survey lines are identified in confidence tiers rather than as a flat list, and a suggested assignment is never promoted to accepted automatically.
Literature and multiplet models
Compare a measured binding energy with a corpus of reported values and their referencing context, or overlay an atomic-multiplet or charge-transfer simulation on a transition-metal region.
Atlas compared with legacy XPS software
Most labs already own capable XPS software. This is where Atlas adds to it, and where your existing tools are still the better choice.
| Capability | Matter42 AtlasCloud or private deployment | Instrument vendor softwaree.g. Avantage, MultiPak, SpecsLab Prodigy | Desktop analysis toolse.g. CasaXPS, Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Importing data from several vendors | Supported. VAMAS plus PHI, SPECS, Scienta, and CasaXPS exports, in one schema. | Partly supported. Own formats; VAMAS export usually available. | Supported. Broad format support. |
| Constrained fitting with linked doublets | Supported. Template-driven, with a stated reason for every component. | Supported. Standard. | Supported. Standard and highly configurable. |
| Checking whether a fit is unique | Supported. Perturbation test runs by default; unsupported components flagged. | Partly supported. Fit statistics; uniqueness checks usually manual. | Partly supported. Error estimates available in some tools, run on request. |
| Energy referencing recorded with basis and uncertainty | Supported. Every shift stored with its method and uncertainty. | Partly supported. Calibration applied; basis often kept as a note. | Partly supported. Calibration shift stored with the file. |
| Counting-statistics checks before fitting | Supported. Reported for every region. | Partly supported. Left to the analyst. | Partly supported. Left to the analyst. |
| Atomic-percent quantification | Not supported. Not yet. On the roadmap. | Supported. With built-in sensitivity-factor libraries. | Supported. With configurable sensitivity factors. |
| Comparison with published binding energies | Supported. Searchable corpus with referencing context and citations. | Partly supported. Built-in reference tables. | Partly supported. Element libraries; literature by hand. |
| Multiplet and charge-transfer simulation | Supported. Atomic-multiplet and charge-transfer models overlaid on data. | Not supported. Separate specialist codes. | Not supported. Separate specialist codes. |
| Results tied to samples and process history | Supported. Referenced positions, widths, and area fractions are stored as structured outputs linked to the file, parameters, sample, and process run. | Partly supported. Project files on the workstation; sample context kept separately. | Partly supported. Saved project files; sample context kept by hand. |
| Instrument control and acquisition | Not supported. Not an acquisition tool. Keep your instrument software for this. | Supported. Core purpose. | Not supported. Not offered. |
- Supported
- Partly supported
- Not supported
Reflects typical, publicly documented workflows in each category as of September 2026. Capabilities vary by product, version, and add-on module. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
Where Atlas stops
A result is only useful if you know its limits. These are the current boundaries, stated in the product the same way.
- Atomic-percent quantification is not shipped yet. It needs a named sensitivity-factor set, a transmission correction, and compatible pass energies, and it is next on the roadmap. Use your current software for it today.
- Atlas does not name a chemical state from a survey spectrum or accept a fit whose components the data cannot distinguish.
- Area fractions are reported within a core-level region. They are not oxide thicknesses or atomic percentages.
- The generic peak fitter refuses XPS data and points to the constrained XPS workflow instead.
Files Atlas reads
- VAMAS (.vms, .npl)
- PHI MultiPak (.spe, .pro depth profiles)
- SPECS SpecsLab Prodigy (.xy)
- Scienta Omicron (.txt)
- CasaXPS text exports
Questions
- Is Atlas a CasaXPS alternative?
- For importing, referencing, constrained fitting, and checking whether a fit is unique, yes. For atomic-percent quantification, keep CasaXPS or your vendor software for now; that capability is on the Atlas roadmap. Atlas reads CasaXPS text exports and records any CasaXPS processing embedded in a VAMAS file without silently applying it.
- Can Atlas read depth profiles?
- Yes. A PHI MultiPak .pro depth profile becomes one dataset per sputter cycle, with the sputter ion and energy recorded, so each cycle can be referenced and fitted like any other region.
- How does Atlas handle charge referencing?
- As an explicit, reviewable step. You choose a deposited marker, a Fermi edge, an internal line, or adventitious carbon, and the method, offset, and uncertainty are recorded on every derived dataset. Kinetic-energy exports are converted using the recorded source energy and work function.
Bring your XPS data
Send us a file from your own instrument. We’ll run it through Atlas and walk you through every number and caveat it reports.