AVS 61st International Symposium & Exhibition
    Exhibitor Technology Spotlight Wednesday Sessions
       Session EW-WeL

Paper EW-WeL2
An Auger Electron Analyzer System for In Situ Growth Monitoring

Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 12:40 pm, Room Hall ABC

Session: Exhibitor Technology Spotlight Session
Presenter: W.Laws Calley III, Staib Instruments, Inc.
Authors: W.L. Calley III, Staib Instruments, Inc.
P.G. Staib, Staib Instruments, Inc.
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The Auger Probe is a specially designed electron analyzer engineered for in situ growth monitoring [1]. To avoid shadowing a growing surface, the Probe is designed to operate at extended working distances (tested between 50mm to 82mm) with a tapered, small diameter tip. The Probe can utilize a grazing incidence RHEED gun or a near normal incidence electron gun. Figure 1 shows a typical Probe configuration in an MBE system.

AES is a surface sensitive technique capable of detecting nearly all elements. The Probe has detected low-Z elements like Li, figure 2, as well as high-Z elements like Dy [2], figure 3, during real time deposition of the respective element.

The Probe has been implemented in a wide variety of growths environments, from more traditional MBE III-V growths, to III-Nitrides and Oxides, figure 4, as-well-as metal alloy growths.

The Probe has proven reliable in all the tested growth environments, including systems with Li, O, Cl, Ga, As, and Sb. It has not failed in any tested growth environment after hundred of hours of exposure during growth. It has not been shown to interfere with any growth process that it has been operated.

The Probe is easy to operate, requiring simplified alignment when compared to traditional AES. Coupled with automated data acquisition software, it is easy to implement in real time growth monitoring.

The Probe has been used to detect and identify several contaminants in growth environments including. C, O, and Cl. It has also been used to monitor the oxide removal from substrates prior to growth.

The Probe has been used to monitor the growing surfaces in all of the previously mentioned growth environments. This real time monitoring of growing films allows the user to construct an AES growth profile of the grown film.

The Probe provides real time N(E) auger spectra enabling quantification of the Auger data. This allows the user to track the elemental concentration throughout the growth.

The Probe has been used in a wide variety of growths environments. The Probe has not failed in any of the environments in which it has been installed. The Probe can detect elements as light as Li to heavy elements through the Lanthanide system. In addition to AES, the analyzer provides REELS spectra of the distribution of characteristic energy losses [3]. Due to its robust and unique design, the Probe can be used in a variety of growth environments to provide real time elemental analysis during growth.

[1] P. G. Staib, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 29, (2011).

[2] W. Laws Calley, et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 31, (2013).

[3] P. G. Staib, at this conference. Abstract #5115