Absolute Calibration of Sims Depth Profiles of a-SiNx:H/a-Si:H and a-SiOx:H/a-Si:H Multilayers

ABSTRACTWe calibrated secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) depth profiles of a-SiNx:H/a-Si:H and a-SiOx:H/a-Si:H multilayer samples by comparing them to high-spatial-resolution SIMS maps of cross sections through the layers. Both profiles and images were acquired with a focused scanning 45 keV Ga+ ion microprobe. During depth profiling an area gating technique was used to improve depth resolution. At the beginning of the profile the resolution was 8 nm. By cutting the multilayer films at a small angle through the layers, we obtained SIMS images of cross sections through thesemultilayer samples. The resolution along the expanded direction is about 10 nm. By comparing the depth profiles and the cross section images, we determined the ionbeam-induced atomic mixing in the samples, as a function of depth and the sputtering yield for each layer.