Nondestructive Depth Profiling by Specimen Tilting Using Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometer

Abstract

In order to perform nondestructive depth profiling, a glancing incidence method has been attempted by specimen tilting using a scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. Two-dimensional (2D) compositional mapping was carried out using double/triple-layered specimens at various tilt angles, namely glancing incidence angles. It was confirmed that the visibility of the compositional map clearly varied depending on the incidence angle and the depth distribution. The X-ray intensity dependence on the incidence angle at each observation point is obtained from a series of compositional maps and that enables qualitative 2D depth profiling of spatial resolution in the micrometer range and depth resolution of a few tens of nm.