Characterization of surface modifications by white light interferometry: applications in ion sputtering, laser ablation, and tribology experiments.

In materials science and engineering it is often necessary to obtain quantitative measurements of surface topography with micrometer lateral resolution. From the measured surface, 3D topographic maps can be subsequently analyzed using a variety of software packages to extract the information that is needed. In this article we describe how white light interferometry, and optical profilometry (OP) in general, combined with generic surface analysis software, can be used for materials science and engineering tasks. In this article, a number of applications of white light interferometry for investigation of surface modifications in mass spectrometry, and wear phenomena in tribology and lubrication are demonstrated. We characterize the products of the interaction of semiconductors and metals with energetic ions (sputtering), and laser irradiation (ablation), as well as ex situ measurements of wear of tribological test specimens. Specifically, we will discuss: i. Aspects of traditional ion sputtering-based mass spectrometry such as sputtering rates/yields measurements on Si and Cu and subsequent time-to-depth conversion. ii. Results of quantitative characterization of the interaction of femtosecond laser irradiation with a semiconductor surface. These results are important for applications such as ablation mass spectrometry, where the quantities of evaporated material can be studied and controlled via pulse duration and energy per pulse. Thus, by determining the crater geometry one can define depth and lateral resolution versus experimental setup conditions. iii. Measurements of surface roughness parameters in two dimensions, and quantitative measurements of the surface wear that occur as a result of friction and wear tests. Some inherent drawbacks, possible artifacts, and uncertainty assessments of the white light interferometry approach will be discussed and explained.

High-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiling of nanolayers.

RATIONALE: Although the fundamental physical limits for depth resolution of secondary ion mass spectrometry are well understood in theory, the experimental work to achieve and demonstrate them is still ongoing. We report results of high-resolution TOF SIMS (time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry) depth profiling experiments on a nanolayered structure, a stack of 16 alternating MgO and ZnO ~5.5 nm layers grown on a Si substrate by atomic layer deposition. METHODS: The measurements were performed using a newly developed approach implementing a low-energy direct current normally incident Ar(+) ion beam for ion milling (250 eV and 500 eV energy), in combination with a pulsed 5 keV Ar(+) ion beam at 60° incidence for TOF SIMS analysis. By this optimized arrangement, a noticeably improved version of the dual-beam (DB) approach to TOF SIMS depth profiling is introduced, which can be dubbed gentleDB. RESULTS: The mixing-roughness-information model was applied to detailed analysis of experimental results. It revealed that the gentleDB approach allows ultimate depth resolution by confining the ion beam mixing length to about two monolayers. This corresponds to the escape depth of secondary ions, the fundamental depth resolution limitation in SIMS. Other parameters deduced from the measured depth profiles indicated that a single layer thickness is equal to 6 nm so that the 'flat' layer thickness d is 3 nm and the interfacial roughness σ is 1.5 nm, thus yielding d + 2σ = 6 nm. CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated that gentleDB TOF SIMS depth profiling with noble gas ion beams is capable of revealing the structural features of a stack of nanolayers, resolving its original surface and estimating the roughness of interlayer interfaces, information which is difficult to obtain by traditional approaches.

Ion microscopy with resonant ionization mass spectrometry: time-of-flight depth profiling with improved isotopic precision.

There are four generally mutually exclusive requirements that plague many mass spectrometric measurements of trace constituents: (1) the small size (limited by the depth probed) of many interesting materials requires high useful yields to simply detect some trace elements, (2) the low concentrations of interesting elements require efficient discrimination from isobaric interferences, (3) it is often necessary to measure the depth distribution of elements with high surface and low bulk contributions, and (4) many applications require precise isotopic analysis. Resonant ionization mass spectrometry has made dramatic progress in addressing these difficulties over the past five years.

Extinct technetium in silicon carbide stardust grains: implications for stellar nucleosynthesis.

The isotopic composition of ruthenium (Ru) in individual presolar silicon carbide (SiC) stardust grains bears the signature of s-process nucleosynthesis in asymptotic giant branch stars, plus an anomaly in 99Ru that is explained by the in situ decay of technetium isotope 99Tc in the grains. This finding, coupled with the observation of Tc spectral lines in certain stars, shows that the majority of presolar SiC grains come from low-mass asymptotic giant branch stars, and that the amount of 99Tc produced in such stars is insufficient to have left a detectable 99Ru anomaly in early solar system materials.