The composition of a material may vary as a function of depth due to the exposition to impurities or due to the manufacturing process. Depth profiling, also called depth chemical analysis, reveals the chemical composition of a material and hints at the material’s mechanical and electrical properties. Depth profiles can be obtained in a non-destructive manner, or by successively removing layers of the sample, often by Focused Ion Beam (FIB). The choice of the method is critical and is based mainly on the depth to probe, the depth resolution and the detection limit of the apparatus. The highly qualified personnel of the GCM routinely carries out depth profiling on many types of materials and it is proud to make its cutting-edge competencies available to the industry.

Analytical techniques

There are many factors to take into account to perform a depth profile : chemistry of the sample, required sensitivity, depth to probe, depth resolution, concentration, etc. A complete analysis can require more than one of the following techniques:

• Rutherford Backscattering (RBS)
• Elastic Recoil Detection (ERD)
• Time-of-flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS)
• Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES)
• X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)