Practical methods for background subtraction in photoemission spectra

The active approach for background modeling is described in this report. Under this technique, the background is assessed during the optimization of the peak parameters. In contrast, under the traditional (static) approach, the background is defined prior to peak fitting. The active has many advantages over the static, such as that the peak areas are often underestimated under the static approach. The active technique allows for treating the background as a combination of various background types. There are many reports in the literature where some of the features of the active approach are employed. Also described in this report is the Shirley–Vegh–Salvi–Castle (SVSC) background, which is a variant of the Shirley–Proctor–Sherwood method that does not require iterations. The advantages of the SVSC over the Shirley–Proctor–Sherwood background are fully described. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.