Time-Of-Flight ERDA for Depth Profiling of Light Elements

The time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis (TOF-ERDA) method is one of the ion beam analysis methods that is capable of analyzing light elements in a sample with excellent depth resolution. In this method, simultaneous measurements of recoil ion energy and time of flight are performed, and ion mass is evaluated. The energy of recoil ions is calculated from TOF, which gives better energy resolution than conventional Silicon semiconductor detectors (SSDs). TOF-ERDA is expected to be particularly applicable for the analysis of light elements in thin films. In this review, the principle of TOF-ERDA measurement and details of the measurement equipment along with the performance of the instrumentation, including depth resolution and measurement sensitivity, are described. Examples of TOF-ERDA analysis are presented with a focus on the results obtained from the measurement system developed by the author.