Results of a SIMS round robin sponsored by ASTM committee E‐42 on surface analysis

Abstract

AbstractThe results of a round robin involving the quantitative depth profile analysis of ion‐implanted boron in silicon by secondary ion mass spectrometry are reported. This study was a blind analysis; each participant was provided with three samples, a standard for which the implantation does was known and two other samples of unknown dose. The study compares the accuracy and precision of the quantitative analysis of boron in silicon, background signal levels, detection limits, dynamic range and sputter depth profile shapes obtained using fifteen SIMS instruments (fourteen commercial instruments manufactured by five different companies and one home‐built system). The quantitative SIMS analysis of boron in silicon, using similar standards, was found to have a relative standard deviation of approximately 10–12%, which also turned out to be the variation in sample homogeneity over the implanted samples, and a relative error of <10%. Comparison of sputter profile shapes shows a good degree of precision extending over six decades of signal intensity. The highest dynamic range of 6.1 × 105 and the best detection limit of 3.7 × 1020 atoms m−3 were found for analyses using the ‘mini‐chip’ method of v. Criegern and Weitzel. Results of a test concerning the lateral homogeneity of the depth distribution of the implanted species are presented and discussed.