Comparison of the sputter rates of oxide films relative to the sputter rate of SiO2

Abstract

New method of calculating adsorption and scattering for Xe-Pt (111) using Direct Simulation Monte Carlo techniques J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 30, 061401 (2012) Current-voltage-time characteristics of the reactive Ar/O2 high power impulse magnetron sputtering discharge J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 30, 050601 (2012) Influence of magnetic ordering on the elastic properties of PdFe3N J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 30, 030602 (2012) Investigation of the factors determining the SIMS depth resolution in silicon-isotope multiple layers J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 30, 011803 (2012)Hydrogen effects in hydrofluorocarbon plasma etching of silicon nitride: Beam study with CF+, CF2+, CHF2+, and CH2F+ ions There is a growing interest in knowing the sputter rates for a wide variety of oxides because of their increasing technological importance in many different applications. To support the needs of users of the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a national scientific user facility, as well as our research programs, the authors made a series of measurements of the sputter rates from oxide films that have been grown by oxygen plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, pulsed laser deposition, atomic layer deposition, electrochemical oxidation, or sputter deposition. The sputter rates for these oxide films were determined in comparison with those from thermally grown SiO 2 , a common reference material for sputter rate determination. The film thicknesses and densities for most of these oxide films were measured using x-ray reflectivity. These oxide films were mounted in an x-ray photoelectron or Auger electron spectrometer for sputter rate measurements using argon ion sputtering. Although the primary objective of this work was to determine relative sputter rates at a fixed angle, the measurements also examined ͑i͒ the angle dependence of the relative sputter rates, ͑ii͒ the energy dependence of the relative sputter rates, and ͑iii͒ the extent of ion beam induced reduction for some oxides. Oxide films examined include SiO 2 O 5 , TiO 2 ͑anatase, rutile, and amorphous͒, and ZnO. The authors found that the sputter rates for the oxides can vary up to a factor of 2 ͑usually lower͒ from that observed for SiO 2 . The ratios of sputter rates relative to those of SiO 2 appear to be relatively independent of ion beam energy in the range of 1-4 kV and for incident angles Ͻ50°. As expected, the extent of ion beam induced reduction of the oxides varies with the sputter angle.

Multi-element-resolved electrochemical corrosion analysis. Part I. Dissolution behavior and passivity of amorphous Fe50Cr15Mo14C15B6

“…The film thickness was estimated using the depth at which the oxygen intensity reached half of the maximum, as used by several authors [2,21,22]. It is important to consider that the etch rates of Fe-and Cr-oxides differ from those of SiO 2 as reported for one example by Baer [23]. Because the surface films consist of mixed oxides and hydroxides of Fe, Cr and Mo, it is very difficult to exactly estimate the real sputter rates.…”

“…First, it is reported in literature that the etch rates of Cr-and Fe-oxides are lower than SiO 2 [23,30], causing in principle an overestimation of the XPS oxide growth from sputter profiles. Secondly, the calculated oxide thickness based on the electrochemical data bears small inaccuracies as the total dissolution current density does not account for dissolution of B and C. The contribution of C to the resulting current is expected to be very low.…”

Optical and structural characterization of thermal oxidation effects of erbium thin films deposited by electron beam on silicon

“…However, it has been shown that most metal oxides sputter slower than SiO 2 (1.6 nm/min), by percents not exceeding $50%. 21 It should also be noted that the sensitivity factors of erbium-based materials are not well established. Therefore, the AES data was converted to relative atomic composition versus depth by applying the relative sensitivity factors derived empirically from elemental standards.…”

The Onset of Potassium Chloride Induced High Temperature Corrosion: A Novel Experimental Approach

“…XPS allows identifying the elemental distribution on the surface, and also detects the individual chemical states of each element. Additionally, during the sputtering process, the oxide layer penetration time can be measured and the layer thickness can be predicted by using calibration data and standard equations [23]. A scanning-electron microscope (SEM-LEO Gemini 1530 with a ThermoNORAN Vantage X-ray analyzing system manufactured by Thermo Scientific) was used to identify the changes in surface morphology and average composition of the corroded material.…”