Determination of Layer Thicknesses by Total Electron Yield Measurements—Substrate Method

Abstract

The application of total electron yield (TEY) measurements to the determination of layer thicknesses is described, presenting an introduction to the principles of TEY measurements, the instrumentation and the evaluation of measured signals. The formulation of the theoretical correlation between measured TEY jumps from substrate elements and the thickness of an overlayer is presented. The concept of quantitative thickness determinations by TEY is demonstrated on thin layers of AlxGa1-xAs on GaAs and on thin Ag layers on GaAs substrates. The relative error in layer thickness is found to be less than 10% in the thickness range 1–100 nm. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.