Light element analysis using ERDA method with an ionization chamber

An elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA) system using DeltaE- E techniqu e was assembled for stoichiometric and depth profile studies of materials f ormed by light elements, An ionization chamber with a surface barrier detec tor (SBD) was used in this work. From the energy loss (E) information obtai ned from the gas and the residual energy (E) obtained by the SBD, it was po ssible to identify atomic number of the arriving particles at the SBD. An i ncident beam of Cl-35 of 58 MeV was used for the elastic scattering with th e sample components. From the spectra obtained for carbon nitride thin film s it was possible to clearly identify the elements carbon and nitrogen. The presence of oxygen in the spectra was probably due to the sample exposure to air. The chemical composition of the films was calculated and compared w ith that obtained from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra for C 1s and N 1s. A LiNiO2 thin film was also analyzed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scien ce B.V. All rights reserved.