DEPTH RESOLUTION FOR AES SPUTTER PROFILES OF GAAS GAINAS STRAINED SUPERLATTICES/

The effect of varying the energy (250-2000 eV) and angle of incidence (50-degrees or 80-degrees) of Ar ions used to sputter etch a surface w as observed on depth profiles of strained GaAs/Ga0.81In0.19As superlat tices studied by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The superlattices were grown by atmospheric-pressure metal-organic chemical vapor deposi tion (MOCVD) with a nominal layer thickness of 50 angstrom. We show th at using ion energies of around 500 eV and grazing incidence minimizes the artifacts due to the interaction between the ion beam and the sur face.