Quantitative analysis of silicon- and aluminium-oxynitride films with EPMA, SIMS, hf-SNMS, hf-GD-OES and FT-IR

A precise and economic way for quantitative bulk analysis of silicon/aluminium, oxygen and nitrogen in the technological important silicon- and aluminium oxynitride thin films based on FT-IR and EPMA is presented and the use of data gained by the latter method is discussed for the calculation of relative sensitivity factors for SIMS and hf-SNMS. Advantages and disadvantages of SIMS, hf-SNMS and hf-GD-OES were compared. The combination FT-IR/EPMA/SIMS offers at present the best possibility for a quantitative bulk and in-depth distribution analysis of such films in the range of 20 to 1000 nm thickness. Alternatively for thicker films, combinations of FT-IR/EPMA/hf-SNMS or FT-IR/EPMA/hf-GD-OES are easier to apply but their use is restricted to oxygen concentrations higher than 10 wt%.