Large‐scale quantification of aluminum in AlxGa1‐xN alloys by ToF‐SIMS: The benefit of secondary cluster ions. (3rd March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Huang, Rong; Chen, Xiao; Li, Fangsen; Ding, Sunan; Yang, Hui
• Other Names: Weng Lu‐Tao guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: Surface and interface analysis. Volume 52:Number 5(2020)
• Page Start: 311
• Page End: 317
• Publication Date: 2020-03-03
• Subjects: AlxGa1‐xN -- matrix effect compensation -- quantification -- secondary cluster ions -- ToF‐SIMS; Surfaces (Physics) -- Periodicals; Surface chemistry -- Periodicals; Thin films -- Periodicals; 541.33
• DOI: 10.1002/sia.6760
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0142-2421

Abstract

Abstract : Precise determination of composition is requisite for Al x Ga1‐ x N‐based energy band engineering. Secondary cluster ions in a time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS) full spectrum are introduced for accurate quantification of Al in Al x Ga1‐ x N for AlGaN‐based devices. It was found that statistical analysis with huge number of large secondary cluster ions (without small ions) show much better linear dependence with apparent compensation of matrix effect, particularly in negative polarity. For Al x Ga1‐ x N with x = 0 to 0.7, x values calculated based on large negative cluster ions (NCIs) show excellent linear dependence with real values. Besides, atomic count ratio of C (Al)/ C (Ga) and C (Ga)/ C (Al) also shows great linear relationships with corresponding mole fraction ratios in a large range. Overlap of these linear ranges offers a reliable and convenient quantification protocol of Al x Ga1‐ x N covering a full range of x = 0 to 1. This study verifies that the secondary cluster ions are beneficial for quantification of Al x Ga1‐ x N‐based materials.