Routine analysis at sub-micron resolution through the use of sputtered initiated resonance ionization spectroscopy

Imaging at sub-micron lateral resolution is now possible due to the advent of liquid metal ion gun LMIG.sources. The cost, however, is a reduction in ion beam current at the surface, which directly affects the number of desorbed particles available for analysis. Furthermore, as the needs grow for chemical imaging at increasingly smaller areas, the demands on the detection step become enormous. Sputter initiated resonance ionization spectroscopy SIRIS.offers advantages over conventional techniques. In SIRIS, desorbed neutral particles are photoionized through resonance excitation steps and then mass analyzed. This process nearly eliminates matrix effects and mass interferences, two problems that plague conventional SIMS secondary ion mass spectrometry.. Moreover, analysis of desorbed neutrals, rather than secondary ions, generally increase the detection efficiency by at least two orders of magnitude. Here we present data that demonstrates the ability of SIRIS to produce depth profiles over a large dynamic range and high lateral resolution images of Cu contaminant in a CdZnTe film. q1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.