Using angle-resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS) it is possible to determine thickness, composition and depth distribution information for ultrathin samples in the region of ∼5-10 nm. With ARXPS determining both quantitative elemental information and chemical state information, it provides chemical state profiles from surface and buried layers non-destructively. This paper illustrates how ARXPS data can provide measurements of overlayer thickness and interface layer thickness for high-k dielectric layers on silicon. Elemental and chemical state depth distribution information is also provided in the form of reconstructed concentration profiles. Further examples are provided where ARXPS has been used to study the influence of surface pretreatment of the silicon substrate prior to deposition of hafnium oxide. It will be shown that the pretreatment determines whether a silicon oxide or silicate is formed.
Angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS) has been used to characterize non-destructively silicon oxynitride and high-k film samples. The ARXPS data have been processed to provide accurate and precise measurements of thickness of surface and interface layers. Concentration depth profiles have been reconstructed from the ARXPS data to provide elemental and chemical state distribution information. For silicon oxynitride samples, nitrogen doses have been calculated from the concentration profiles, thereby accounting for the distribution of the nitrogen within the oxynitride layer. A comparison of ARXPS with modeled single-angle XPS experiments illustrate the potential errors in calculation of both thickness and dose using the latter technique. Sputter depth profiles are also shown to contain potentially misleading information when compared to reconstructed ARXPS depth profiles.
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