On the anomalous SIMS transient of B in Si: the influence of surface conditions

The SIMS B-11(+) signal from a homogeneously boron-doped silicon sample was measured with a 1 keV O-2(+) beam at 60 degrees incidence without oxygen flooding. Stationary levels of boron secondary ions were reached only at a depth of similar to 40 nm. Ln vacuo rotation of the analysed samples during interruption of the profiling revealed that there is no relation between the anomalous long boron transient and the formation of surface ripples by the ion beam. In contrast, removal of the native oxide by HF prior to the SIMS analysis resulted in a reduction of the boron transient to a normal value of similar to6 nm. This work shows that for accurate dynamic SIMS analysis the initial surface condition can be important. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.