Application of Sputter-Assisted EPMA to Depth Profile Analysis |
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Authors: | Norbert Lesch Anke Aretz Markus Pidun Silvia Richter Peter Karduck |
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Institution: | (1) Central Facility for Electron Microscopy (GFE), Aachen University of Technology, D-52056 Aachen, Germany, DE |
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Abstract: | A common problem in depth profile measurement is the calibration of the depth scale. The new technique of sputter assisted
electron probe microanalysis offers the possibility of calculating the composition as well as the depth scale solely from
the acquired X-ray intensity data without further information, e.g. sputter rates. To achieve a depth resolution that is smaller
than the depth of information of the electron probe, i.e. 0.1–1 μm, special deconvolution algorithms must be applied to the
acquired data.
To assess the capabilities of this new technique it was applied to a Ti/Al/Ti multilayer on Si under different measurement
conditions. Quantitative depth profiles were obtained by application of a deconvolution algorithm based on maximum entropy
analysis. By comparison of these profiles with AES depth profiles and AFM roughness measurements, it was shown that the limiting
factor to the achievable depth resolution is the occurrence of surface roughening induced by the sputtering process rather
than the relatively large depth of information of the electron probe.
We conclude that for certain applications sputter-assisted EPMA can be regarded as a valid depth profiling technique with
a depth resolution in the nm range. |
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Keywords: | : Depth profiling sputtering EPMA electron probe micro analysis multilayer |
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