A computer‐controlled surface analysis instrument, incorporating static Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning Auger mapping, and secondary electron imaging, has been designed and built at CERN to study and characterize the inner surface of superconducting radio‐frequency cavities to be installed in the Large Electron Positron collider. A detailed description of the instrument, including the analytical head, the control system, and the vacuum system is presented. Some recent results obtained from the cavities provide examples of the instrument’s capabilities. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.