Determination of the Composition of TiN_x and TiB_xN_y Films by AES

Abstract

Dedicated to Prof. W . Müller-Warmuth on the occasion of his 65 th birthday For the determination of x and y of TiN, and TiB^N coatings two Auger methods are presented, one circumventing and the other minimising the difficulties arising from the overlap of the KL23L23 and L3M23M23 peaks of N and Ti, respectively. The first method, developed for TiNx coatings, is based on the L3M23M45 valence band peak of Ti which develops a distinct second peak on nitridation, 3.9 eV below the main peak, labelled the L3M23Hybrid peak. After a simple Shirley background correction, a linear dependence of the L3M23Hybrid/L3M23M45 peak height ratio on the N/Ti ratio was found. This allows the determination of the N content of a TiNx compound. For TiBxNy coatings, a more complex shape of the L3M23M45 peak is obtained due to the presence of more than one phase, rendering this peak unusable for quantification. Therefore the N/Ti ratio is obtained from the L3M23M23/L3M23M4, peak intensity ratio for Ti. To minimise influences of the fine structure and improve the accuracy of the method, the negative peak excursions were artificially broadened. The N/Ti ratio so obtained is used in combination with the B concentration determined from the KL23L23 peak of B to yield the Ti-B-N composition.

Quantitative analysis of CN∕TiCN∕TiN multilayers and their thermal stability by Auger electron spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry depth profiles

“…Due to the wellknown overlapping of the N KLL and Ti L 3 M 23 M 23 signals 18-21 ͓cf. [18][19][20] It is worth to mention here that the W and Fe contaminants ͑1 and 2 at. 2͑a͔͒ we have used the negative excursion of the N KLL +Ti L 3 M 23 M 23 peak ͑neph͒ as representative of the N concentration, as suggested by Pamler.…”