Dependence of Auger depth resolution and surface texturing on primary ion species

The dependence of Auger depth resolution and surface texturing on primary ion species was systematically investigated for polycrystalline Al, Mo, Ag and Ta films deposited on Si wafers, using 3 keV Ne⁺, Ar⁺ and Xe⁺ ions as projectiles. The resolution was found to depend strongly on ion species; the higher the ion mass, the better the resolution. The resolution improvement attained with Xe⁺ ions was dramatic for Al, becoming less pronounced for higher mass targets. As revealed by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy, Xe⁺ sputtering led to less-developed topographical structures of sputtered areas, which allowed us to conclude that ion sputtering with heavier ions roughens the surface less, resulting in a marked improvement in resolution.