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Comparison of Auger and SIMS analysis of a thin passive oxide film on iron—25% chromium
Author(s) -
Mitchell D. F.,
Graham M. J.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/sia.740100507
Subject(s) - sputtering , auger electron spectroscopy , auger , chromium , analytical chemistry (journal) , thin film , oxide , materials science , alloy , sputter deposition , chemistry , metallurgy , atomic physics , nanotechnology , physics , chromatography , nuclear physics
A comparison of three surface‐analytical methods, viz: variable escape angle Auger electron spectroscopy, Auger sputter profiling and SIMS sputter profiling, is presented for a 1.8 nm‐thick ‘passive’ oxide film on Fe–25% Cr alloy. The three techniques give identical results regarding the composition of the film as a function of depth. This means that with the proper choice of sputtering conditions (heavy ions of low energy), sputter mixing and sputter reduction are not a problem. It is evident from the experimental data that SIMS sputter profiling has the best depth resolution of the three techniques for such a thin film.