IUVSTA 15th International Vacuum Congress (IVC-15), AVS 48th International Symposium (AVS-48), 11th International Conference on Solid Surfaces (ICSS-11)
    Applied Surface Analysis Tuesday Sessions
       Session AS-TuP

Paper AS-TuP6
High Spatial Resolution Auger Microanalysis of FIB Prepared Samples

Tuesday, October 30, 2001, 5:30 pm, Room 134/135

Session: Aspects of Applied Surface Analysis II Poster Session
Presenter: A.L. Linsebigler, General Electric Corporate Research and Development Center
Authors: A.L. Linsebigler, General Electric Corporate Research and Development Center
M. Larsen, General Electric Corporate Research and Development Center
Correspondent: Click to Email
In the past several years, the realm of Auger microanalysis has been expanded to include analysis of nanometer range thin films and particles. Auger analysis is ideal for fast and simple elemental determination of thin film and particle composition on a submicron level. In most cases, the area of interest is buried below the surface of the sample out of the range of the Auger electron sampling depth. Traditional metallographic sample preparation techniques can be used to prepare a cross section of a sample to expose buried layers and particles. The surfaces of samples can also be polished to produce high spatial resolution (< 0.3um) Auger elemental maps. Traditional metallographic polishing techniques require that the sample be mounted in nonconductive materials and require the use of liquid polishing media, which can absorb into microcracks in the mounting material and sample. This in turn, leads to considerable outgassing under the ultrahigh vacuum conditions needed for Auger analysis. In addition, the traditional techniques can miss the submicron area of interest, take a considerable amount of time, and lead to smearing and rounding of interfaces. FIB sample techniques are UHV compatible, are well controlled to prepare the submicron area of interest, and certain FIB sample preparation methods are much faster than traditional polishing methods. Auger microanalysis of a cross-sectional surface of buried submicron thin films prepared with the box, staircase, and TEM lift out FIB techniques will be presented and the results will be compared to the same surfaces prepared by traditional metallographic polishing techniques. A comparison between the Auger interfacial resolution, surface roughness, and surface cleanliness obtained with each technique will be presented.