SEMI-QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS ON OPTICAL OXIDE THIN FILMS USING CS COMPLEX SECONDARY IONS IN TOF-SIMS

This study investigates the capabilities of “CsₙM⁺” and “Cluster Counting” methods for semi-quantitative analysis of optical oxide thin films in TOF-SIMS, including SiO₂ thin film, Ta₂O₅-SiO2 multilayer thin film and different ratios of HfO₂-SiO₂ mixed thin films systems. Quantitative XPS results of HfO2-SiO2 mixed thin films were obtained to compare with SIMS results. The study confirms that cluster counting of Cs complexes yields significantly better estimates the matrix composition than the “CsₙM⁺” approach in optical thin films when ignoring other trace elements and contaminants. Different element RSF and surface Cs coverage on each layer should be taken into consideration when applying “MCsₙ⁺” and “Cluster Counting” methods on any multilayer optical thin films.This study investigates the capabilities of “CsₙM⁺” and “Cluster Counting” methods for semi-quantitative analysis of optical oxide thin films in TOF-SIMS, including SiO₂ thin film, Ta₂O₅-SiO2 multilayer thin film and different ratios of HfO₂-SiO₂ mixed thin films systems. Quantitative XPS results of HfO2-SiO2 mixed thin films were obtained to compare with SIMS results. The study confirms that cluster counting of Cs complexes yields significantly better estimates the matrix composition than the “CsₙM⁺” approach in optical thin films when ignoring other trace elements and contaminants. Different element RSF and surface Cs coverage on each layer should be taken into consideration when applying “MCsₙ⁺” and “Cluster Counting” methods on any multilayer optical thin films.