ELEMENTAL CONCENTRATION PROFILES IN AN OXIDIZED SILICON-NITRIDE MATERIAL

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) has been used to characterize elemental concentration profiles which build up within and below the oxide scale on a Si3N4 material during oxidation. By in-depth profiling it was shown that the oxide scale had a high concentration of cations originating from the intergranular regions of the material. The subscalar region contained a zone depleted in these elements, and the width of this zone was dependent upon the particular element. Prolonged oxidation at elevated temperatures appeared to level out the initially formed concentration profiles.