Low-energy heavy-ion TOF-ERDA setup for quantitative depth profiling of thin films

Low-energy heavy-ion time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis (TOF-ERDA) is becoming a mature technique for accurate characterization of thin films. In combination with a small tandem accelerator (∼2 MV terminal voltage) and beam energies below 20 MeV, it is suitable for routine analysis of key materials in semiconductor technology. In this paper we discuss advantages and drawbacks of low-energy ERDA, compared to high-energy ERDA, in terms of depth and mass resolution, detection efficiency for light elements, sample irradiation damage and quantification accuracy.The results presented are obtained with the time-of-flight telescope recently developed at IMEC. The time-of-flight is measured with timing gates based on electrostatic mirrors and is acquired in coincidence with the energy signal measured by a planar Si detector.