| AVS 54th International Symposium | |
| Applied Surface Science | Tuesday Sessions |
| Session AS-TuP |
| Session: | Aspects of Applied Surface Science Poster Session |
| Presenter: | K.G. Lloyd, The DuPont Company |
| Authors: | K.G. Lloyd, The DuPont Company L. Zhang, The DuPont Company J.R. Marsh, The DuPont Company M.A. Plummer, The DuPont Company |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Depth profiling -- the removal of material with nanometer depth resolution while analyzing with surface-specific techniques that probe only the newly-revealed surfaces – is an important characterization component of the electronics industry. Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS, a.k.a. ESCA) depth profiling are currently offered by the DuPont CCAS (Corporate Center for Analytical Sciences) organization and DuPont Analytical Solutions. Characteristics of the technique and the sample to be studied often determine which technique is more appropriate. These include detection limits, lateral resolution, thickness regime, and the type of chemical information required (elemental vs. functional group/oxidation vs. molecularly-specific). More recently, SIMS depth profiling with a Time-of-Flight (ToF) analyzer offers high mass resolution, spatially-resolved chemical information, and the collection of the entire mass spectrum at each depth interval. In addition, the combination of ToF-SIMS depth profiling and chemometric/multivariate methods of data analysis allows better definition and characterization of interfacial regions between layers, as well as buried defects. This has called for a reassessment of how and when the two depth-profiling techniques (ESCA and ToF-SIMS) can provide complementary information. Topics including oxidation state, organic information, and influence of different sputter sources will be discussed with examples.