AVS 56th International Symposium & Exhibition
    Applied Surface Science Thursday Sessions
       Session AS-ThA

Paper AS-ThA9
Optimization of C60 Sputtering Conditions for Polymer Depth Profiling by TOF-SIMS

Thursday, November 12, 2009, 4:40 pm, Room C2

Session: Chemical State Depth Profiling
Presenter: S.R. Bryan, Physical Electronics
Authors: S.R. Bryan, Physical Electronics
S. Iida, ULVAC-PHI, Japan
G.L. Fisher, Physical Electronics
J.S. Hammond, Physical Electronics
N. Sanada, ULVAC-PHI, Japan
M. Suzuki, ULVAC-PHI, Japan
Correspondent: Click to Email
Depth profiling of polymer materials by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) has been practiced for many years using atomic primary ion beams such as Cs+ or Ar+. The analytical information provided was limited to elemental profiles due to extensive damage to the polymer structure during sputtering. The recent introduction of C60+ ion beams on TOF-SIMS instrumentation has generated significant scientific interest because of its ability to sputter a variety of organic materials to significant depths while maintaining structurally significant molecular ions in the mass spectrum. From the published studies to date, it has become clear that a high sputter yield is critical to the ability to depth profile polymers while maintaining a steady state signal of structurally significant molecular ions. In this study, we evaluate the C60+ experimental parameters of beam energy and angle of impact on the ability to depth profile several polyunsaturated polymers, such as polycarbonate (PC) and polystyrene (PS), which have proven to be difficult in earlier studies. The results verify that conditions which increase the sputter yield, such as higher beam energy or more glancing angle of impact, minimize the accumulated damage rate as a function of dose. By optimizing the C60+ sputtering conditions, the number of organic materials that can be depth profiled with acceptable damage accumulation will be significantly increased.