On the role of ion bombardment parameters in AES sputter depth profiling of Ta2O5/Ta with Ar+ and Xe+

Summary In order to study the influence of the ion bombardment parameters on the achievable depth resolution of AES sputter depth profiles, 500 Å thick Ta₂O₅-layers produced by anodic oxidation of polished polycrystalline Ta-substrates were sputter depth profiled with Ar⁺- and Xe⁺-ions in a Scanning Auger Microprobe. The 90%–10% interface widthsz were measured for bombarding ion energies from 0.5 to 5 keV and angles of incidence of 15°, 33° and 56°, respectively.z reduces from 48 Å for Ar⁺-bombardment at = 15° andE = 5 keV to 20 Å when bombarding at = 56° andE = 1 keV. The corresponding values for Xe⁺-bombardment are 31 Å and 18 Å. The influence of the ion bombarding energy and angle on the interface broadening is discussed by means of a simple model. From corresponding evaluations the maximum transportation length of layer species into the substrate is found to be proportional toE ^0.5.

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Zum Einfluß der Ionenbeschußparameter auf die Tiefenauflösung bei der AES-Sputtertiefenprofil-analyse von Ta₂O₅/Ta mit Ar⁺ und Xe⁺