REACTIVE ION SPUTTER DEPTH PROFILING OF TANTALUM OXIDES - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY USING TOF-SIMS AND LASER-SNMS

A time-of-flight (ToF) sputter depth profile analysis of standard 15 or 30 nm thick anodically formed Ta2O5 layers as well as of the naturally grown similar to 2 nm thin oxide overlayer on metallic tantalum samples has been made using both the techniques of (positive and negative) secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and laser secondary neutral mass spectrometry (Laser-SNMS), Specific emphasis of this comparative study is on the characterization of the performance of a state-of-the-art ToF mass spectrometer with respect to sputter depth profiling, The prospects of SIMS and Laser-SNMS for quantitative near-surface analysis are addressed under special consideration of reactive (Cs+ or Ga+) ion beam sputtering applied in the present work.