Thin-film analysis in the integrated circuit industry is essential for both process development and production control. In this respect, analysis by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) is advantageous due to its precision and speed. XRF has been used to determine the thickness and elemental composition of thin films, including borophosphosilicate glass, titanium and amorphous-silicon multilayers, and aluminum alloys. Furthermore, XRF has been applied to solve contamination and corrosion problems, including the determination of chlorine and fluorine levels in aluminum-based metallizations after plasma etching.

A method for quantitative phase analysis without standards (QPAWS) has been published in 1977 and has gained considerable interest, as the calibration for quantitative XRD may sometimes be difficult. Standards for quantitatative XRD are not generally available, and in many cases even the pure phases cannot be obtained.The QPAWS method is based on (i) analysis of all phases present in the samples, (ii) foreknowledge of mass absorption coefficients (MAC)(iii) measuring samples which contain all phases in varying concentrations. In this method the number of samples used is equal to the number of phases to be analysed.

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