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Ultra-Shallow Chemical Characterization of Organic Thin Films Deposited by Plasma and Vacuum-Ultraviolet, Using Angle- and Excitation Energy-Resolved XPS

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Abstract

Nitrogen (N)-rich organic thin films were deposited using both low-pressure plasma- and vacuum-ultraviolet-based techniques, from mixtures of ammonia (NH3) and ethylene (C2H4). These films were investigated using angle-resolved and excitation energy resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS and ERXPS, respectively) in order to determine their sub-surface chemical profiles. These two techniques enable one to tune the “XPS 95%” information depth, z 95%, by varying either the angle or the excitation energy. Using a combination of both techniques, z 95% can be varied continuously from 0.7 to 11 nm. The surface-near chemistry is investigated using both high-resolution C 1s spectra and elemental concentrations derived from elemental peak intensities. Results show that while laboratory XPS, and even ARXPS, suggest homogenous surface chemistries, the novel combination of ARXPS and ERXPS points to the existence of a compositional profile in the extreme outer surface layer. Our conclusions are supported by simulations using SESSA software.

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Acknowledgments

P.-L. Girard-Lauriault is grateful to the Adolf Martens Fellowship Program of BAM and to the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies (FQRNT) for post-doctoral fellowship support. The authors would like to thank P. Dietrich (BAM) for his help in the preparation of samples. We also acknowledge support from the BESSY II synchrotron radiation facility and its team, as well as A. Lippitz (BAM) and. A. Nefedov (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, KIT) from the HE-SGM CRG at BESSY.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 6.43 “Schicht- und Oberflächenanalytik”, BAM Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung, 12200, Berlin, Germany

    Pierre-Luc Girard-Lauriault, Thomas Gross & Wolfgang E. S. Unger

  2. Department of Engineering Physics, École Polytechnique, C. P. 6079, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, QC, H3C3A7, Canada

    Juan-Carlos Ruiz & Michael R. Wertheimer

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  1. Pierre-Luc Girard-Lauriault
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  2. Juan-Carlos Ruiz
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  3. Thomas Gross
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  4. Michael R. Wertheimer
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  5. Wolfgang E. S. Unger
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Correspondence to Wolfgang E. S. Unger.

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Girard-Lauriault, PL., Ruiz, JC., Gross, T. et al. Ultra-Shallow Chemical Characterization of Organic Thin Films Deposited by Plasma and Vacuum-Ultraviolet, Using Angle- and Excitation Energy-Resolved XPS. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 31, 535–550 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-011-9306-3

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