Holistic RBS–PIXE data reanalysis of SBT thin film samples

Abstract

The growth of SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) films on top of Pt electrode substrates is an important issue for the fabrication of ferroelectric based memories. In a recent publication, SBT thin films grown using seeded and unseeded procedures were studied by PIXE and RBS. Difficulties and misfits found in the comparison of results from both techniques were, at that time, overcome by physical considerations. These, although not rendering interpretation impossible, left out the possibility of understanding the exact nature of the differences between the interface behavior in each case. In the present work it is shown that the reanalysis of the same data using the recently developed RBS–PIXE simultaneous and self-consistent calculation present in NDF leads to stronger conclusions on the solid state reaction occurring during the deposition stage for both types of samples. Allowing for the occurrence of solid state reactions between the deposited film and the Pt electrode even in the case of seeded samples leads to a full explanation of IBA data, this result showing that in complex systems such as this, the PIXE data are essential and must be integrated with the RBS data in an holistic analysis, in order to properly unfold the depth profile of the samples. Contrary to what is usually supposed PIXE data is therefore shown to contain hidden depth structure information.