We report the quantitative compositional profiling of 3-5 nm CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) conjugated with a perfluorooctanethiol (PFOT) layer using the newly developed time-of-flight (TOF) medium-energy ion scattering (MEIS) spectroscopy with single atomic layer resolution. The collection efficiency of TOF-MEIS is 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of conventional MEIS, enabling the analysis of nanostructured materials with minimized ion beam damage and without ion neutralization problems. The spectra were analyzed using PowerMEIS ion scattering simulation software to allow a wide acceptance angle. Thus, the composition and core-shell structure of the CdSe cores and ZnS shells were determined with a 3% composition uncertainty and a 0.2-nm depth resolution. The number of conjugated PFOT molecules per QD was also quantified. The size and composition of the QDs were consistent with those obtained from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. We suggest TOF-MEIS as a nanoanalysis technique to successfully elucidate the core-shell and conjugated layer structures of QDs, which is critical for the practical application of QDs in various nano- and biotechnologies.

The metal (M = Cd2+ and Zn2+) complexes with trioctylphosphine chalcogenide (TOPE, E = O, S, and Se) are prepared by electrospray ionization, and their relative stabilities and intramolecular reactions are studied by collision-induced dissociation (CID) with Xe under single collision conditions. These metal-TOPE complexes are considered as molecular precursors for the colloidal synthesis of II-VI compound semiconductor nanocrystals employing TOPO as a metal-coordinating solvent and TOPS or TOPSe as a chalcogen precursor. Of the various [M + nTOPE]2+ (n = 2-7) ions generated by ESI, the n = 2-4 complexes are characterized by CID as a function of collision energy. The collision energy at 50% dissociation (E50%) is determined from the cracking curve and the relative stabilities of the complexes are established. Between the two metal ions, the zinc-TOPE complexes are more stable than the cadmium-TOPE complexes when n = 2-3, whereas their stabilities are reversed when n = 4. Of the TOPE, TOPO binds most strongly to the metal ion, while TOPSe does most weakly. Upon CID, loss of TOPE occurs exclusively from the tetra-TOPE complexes, while extensive fragmentation of TOPE takes place from the di-TOPE complexes, showing the signature of the metal chacogenide formation. The nucleation of nanocrystals appears to begin with cracking of [M + 2TOPE]2+ (E = S and Se).

The thicknesses of a series of ultra-thin HfO 2 films were precisely determined by mutual calibration by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and x-ray reflectometry (XRR) in the recent Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM) pilot study P-190. From these well-defined reference film thicknesses, the measurement capability of medium-energy ion scattering spectroscopy (MEIS) for the thickness of HfO 2 films was investigated. The film thicknesses determined by MEIS showed a small difference, within 2%, from the reference thicknesses and an offset value of 0.017 nm. The MEIS thicknesses can also be determined by mutual calibration between the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) thicknesses and the MEIS intensity ratios in the region of the substrate and HfO 2 film. From linear fitting with the reference thicknesses, the MEIS thicknesses determined by mutual calibration showed a slope value of 1.011 and an offset value of 0.015 nm. As a result, MEIS can be a traceable method to determine the absolute thickness of ultra-thin HfO 2 films, and a zero-offset method for application of the mutual calibration method.

Core/shell quantum dots (QDs) have been extensively studied, yet their optical properties widely vary among studies. Such variation may arise from the variation in interfacial structures induced by the subtle difference in each synthetic procedure. Here, we studied the interfacial structures of CdSe/ZnS QDs using the time-of-flight medium energy ion-scattering spectroscopy (TOF-MEIS), which offers the radial elemental distributions as well as the overall elemental compositions of QDs. The TOF-MEIS spectra provided strong evidence for the existence of an alloyed layer at the interface between CdSe and ZnS in typical CdSe/ZnS QDs. On the basis of the emission and absorption spectra of QDs sampled during the synthesis, we conclude that such interfacial alloying is caused by the dissolution of CdSe seeds during the synthesis steps. Such a dissolution mechanism is further corroborated by the observation that the ligand environment of solvent (X or L type) leads to different shapes of interfaces.

Medium‐energy ion scattering (MEIS) has been used for quantitative depth profiling with single atomic layer resolution to determine the composition, thickness, and interface structure of ultrathin films and nanoparticles. To assure the consistency of the MEIS analysis, an international round‐robin test (RRT) with nominally 1‐, 3‐, 5‐, and 7‐nm thick HfO2 films was conducted among 12 institutions. The measurements were performed at each participating laboratory under their own conditions, and the collected data were analyzed. For the data analysis, the Moliere potential, the stopping and range of ions in matter (SRIM) 95 and new fitted electronic stopping power and the Chu straggling were used. For analyzing the MEIS data from the magnetic sector and electrostatic analyzers, the neutralization corrections of Marion and Young for 100‐keV H+ and He+ ions and of Armstrong for 400‐ to 500‐keV He+ ions were used. The standard deviations were 5.3% for the composition, 15.3% for the thickness, and 13.3% for the Hf content, and they were improved to 7.3%, 4.5%, and 7.0% by using refitted electronic stopping powers based on the experimental data. Hence, this study suggests that correct electronic stopping powers are critical for quantitative MEIS analysis.