QUANTITATIVE COMPOSITIONAL DEPTH PROFILING OF SI1-X-YGEXCY THIN-FILMSBY SIMULTANEOUS ELASTIC RECOIL DETECTION AND RUTHERFORD BACKSCATTERING SPECTROMETRY

Elastic recoil detection in conjunction with time-of-flight spectrosco py (ERD-TOF) has been used to simultaneously depth profile all element s in thin SiGeC films on Si (0 0 1). Ge-rich Si1-x-yGexCy (0.025 < (1 - x - y) < 0.08 and 0.026 < p < 0.216) films were grown by ultra-high vacuum ion beam sputter deposition. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that samples with low carbon concent ration (typically, y less than or equal to 0.07) were single crystals with stacking faults and twins while films with 0.07 < y < 0.15 M.ere polycrystalline, Samples with y > 0.15 were amorphous. Then was no evi dence of SIC precipitates. Ge depth profiles were obtained from the re coil spectra as well as from the Rutherford scattered Cl spectra in th e same ERD-geometry. The H concentration was determined simultaneously by selective-absorber ERD, Films with C concentrations approaching a fraction of an at.%, and Si concentrations as low as similar to 1 at.% , could be routinely depth profiled in a single experiment even in the presence of relatively strong surface contamination. (C) 1998 Elsevie r Science B.V.