Helium-3 and boron-10 concentration and depth measurements in alloys and semiconductors using NDP

Abstract

Neutron Depth Profiling (NDP) is a nondestructive near surface technique that is used to measure concentration versus absolute depth of several isotopes of light mass elements in various substrates. NDP is based on absorption reaction of thermal neutrons with the isotope of interest. Charged particles and recoil atoms are generated in the reaction. The depth profiles are determined by measuring the residual energy of the charged particles or the recoil atoms. The NDP technique has became an increasingly important method to measure depth profiles of 3He and 10B in alloys and semiconductor materials. A permanent NDP facility has been installed on the tangential beam port of the University of Texas (UT) TRIGA Mark-II research reactor. One of the standard applications of the UT-NDP facility involves the determination of boron profiles of borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) samples. NDP is also being used in combination with electron microscopy measurements to determine radiation damage and microstructural changes in stainless steel samples. This is done to study the long-term effects of high-dose alpha irradiation for weapons grade plutonium encapsulation. Measurements of implanted boron-10 concentration and depth profiles of semiconductor materials in order to calibrate commercial implanters is another application at the UT-NDP facility. The concentration and depth profiles measured with NDP and SIMS are compared with reported data given by various vendors or different implanters in order to verify implant quality of semiconductor wafers. The results of the measurements and other possible applications of NDP are presented.