Thickness measurement of semiconductor thin films by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence benchtop instrumentation: Application to GaN epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy

The importance of thin films in modern high technology products, such as semiconductors, requires fast and non-destructive analysis. A methodology to determine the thickness of single layers with benchtop energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) instrumentation is described and tested following analytical validation criteria. The experimental work was carried out on gallium nitride thin films epitaxially grown on sapphire substrate. The results of samples with layers in the range from 400 to 1000 nm exhibit a good correlation with the layer thickness determined by optical reflectance. Spectral data obtained using thin layered samples indicate the possibility to precisely evaluate layer thickness from 5 nm, with a low relative standard deviation (RSD < 2%) of the results. In view of the limits of optical reflectance for very thin layer determination, EDXRF analysis offers the potential for the thickness determination of such kind of samples.