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Towards nanometric resolution in multilayer depth profiling: a comparative study of RBS, SIMS, XPS and GDOES

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Abstract

An increasing amount of effort is currently being directed towards the development of new functionalized nanostructured materials (i.e., multilayers and nanocomposites). Using an appropriate combination of composition and microstructure, it is possible to optimize and tailor the final properties of the material to its final application. The analytical characterization of these new complex nanostructures requires high-resolution analytical techniques that are able to provide information about surface and depth composition at the nanometric level. In this work, we comparatively review the state of the art in four different depth-profiling characterization techniques: Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES). In addition, we predict future trends in these techniques regarding improvements in their depth resolutions. Subnanometric resolution can now be achieved in RBS using magnetic spectrometry systems. In SIMS, the use of rotating sample holders and oxygen flooding during analysis as well as the optimization of floating low-energy ion guns to lower the impact energy of the primary ions improves the depth resolution of the technique. Angle-resolved XPS provides a very powerful and nondestructive technique for obtaining depth profiling and chemical information within the range of a few monolayers. Finally, the application of mathematical tools (deconvolution algorithms and a depth-profiling model), pulsed sources and surface plasma cleaning procedures is expected to greatly improve GDOES depth resolution.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank K. Kimura (Kyoto University), P. Chapon (Horiba Jobin Yvon), J. Wang (Max Planck Institute for Metals Research), V. Hofmmann (IFW Dresden) and R. Grötzschel (Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf) for their valuable comments during the preparation of the manuscript. This work was financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (projects MAT2008-06618-C02-01, FUNCOAT CSD2008-00023 and RyC2007-0026).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Micro-Análisis de Materiales, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Ramón Escobar Galindo

  2. Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Ramón Escobar Galindo & Raul Gago

  3. Département de Science et Analyse des Matériaux, Centre de Recherche Public Gabriel Lippmann, 41 rue du Brill, Belvaux, 4422, Luxembourg

    David Duday

  4. Departamento de Física Aplicada, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Carlos Palacio

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  1. Ramón Escobar Galindo
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Escobar Galindo, R., Gago, R., Duday, D. et al. Towards nanometric resolution in multilayer depth profiling: a comparative study of RBS, SIMS, XPS and GDOES. Anal Bioanal Chem 396, 2725–2740 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-009-3339-y

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