Determination of concentration profiles by elastic recoil detection with a ΔE− E gas telescope and high energy incident heavy ions

Abstract

The Elastic Recoil Detection (ERD) method has been used to determine the profile of a wide range of elements simultaneously in a thin layer (1 μm) with a depth resolution of a few hundred Å and high sensitivity. Z separation is achieved by a ΔE(gas)- E(solid) telescope. Results for 127I (up to 240 MeV) incident ions used to profile thin films of dielectrics (SiO x N y H z ), amorphous semiconductors (a-GaAs: H) and superconductors (YBaCuO, BiSrCaCuO) are reported. It has been considered previously that ERD is of interest for analysis of light elements. We show that high energy heavy incident ions extend the field of application of the ERD method to all elements with an approximately constant depth resolution and sensitivity.