MeV heavy ion microprobe PIXE for the analysis of the materials surface

Abstract

Micro PIXE analysis using MeV phosphorus microprobes was performed to a surface structure which consists of multilevel aluminum wirings in silicon nitride and these results were compared with those from a proton microprobe. In the case of a 2 MeV phosphorus microprobe, the X-ray production was enhanced near the surface due to the large energy deposition rate or the short projectile range. As a result, the increase in surface sensitivity was clearly shown in PIXE mapping images of aluminum, silicon, and phosphorus.