AbstractA soft X-ray emission spectroscopy(SXES) study under an energetic electron irradiation has been applied to a nondestructive buried interface analysis of a thin-film(e.g., Cr)/Si(substrate) contact system, where the energy of primary electrons, Ep , is less than 20keV. An interesting point of this method is that we can have a specific signal for an element to be used as a finger print, otherwise it is difficult. By using this e-beam excited SXES, we can study an interface buried deep in a rather thick overlayer, e.g., more than a hundred of nm, which is due to the fact that a mean free path of a soft X-ray or an X-ray production depth is much larger than the mean free path of an energetic electron in solids. Electronic structural study of silicides by SXES is also shown.
Surface and Interface Analysis by X-ray Fluorescence
