Applying Planar, Patterned, Multimetallic Samples to Assess the Impact of Analysis Area in Surface-Chemical Analysis: results of a VAMAS Interlaboratory Comparison

Published

February 3, 2020

Author(s)

Christina Passiu, WES Unger, P Rupper, L Gregoratti, M Amanti, P Zeller, C Malitesta, S Rella, SJ Spencer, A Shard, A Kim, Shinichiro N. Muramoto, M Engelhard, B Hagenhoff, B Bock, R Heuberger, P Dietrich, A Thissen, M Kjaervik, D Paul, J Newman, T Weimann, S Butefisch, ND Spencer, A Rossi

Abstract

The lateral resolution of a surface-analysis instrument is commonly measured as one of the indicators of the quality of obtainable analytical results. Different methods exist to measure this quantity, and traditionally the employed method/reference sample varies with the considered technique. However, having a single reference sample with a well-defined calibration method would be useful to make the calibration results more comparable between different laboratories and surface-analysis techniques. We designed and fabricated a test specimen that can be employed for this purpose. It contains bimetallic patterns suitable for the measurement of four different quantities related to lateral resolution, namely the minimum distance between distinguishable features, the Dx-(100- x) parameter, the line-spread function, and the Field of View (FoV) of an analyzer of an XPS instrument, i.e. the analyzed area. The component metals are coplanar on the surface, allowing topographic effects to be avoided. We report the results of a Round Robin, in which participants used these samples to measure the lateral resolution and effective analyzed area in laboratory X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Some of the participants also tested the samples with time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and synchrotron XPS (scanning photoemission microscopy – SPEM). Another test specimen displaying a series of coplanar circular Cr spots and squares with sizes between 200 µm and 5 µm in a gold film on a Si wafer was developed by PTB and tested in terms of applicability for the measurement of the Field of View of an analyzer of an XPS instrument. The interlaboratory study (ILS) also considered feedback by participants regarding the ease of use and efficiency of the prototype test specimens to optimize them in the next step of commercialization. The results provided by the participants were useful to identify some trends in the instrumental resol

Citation

Surface and Interface Analysis

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

xps, tof-sims, lateral resolution, vamas

Citation

Passiu, C. , Unger, W. , Rupper, P. , Gregoratti, L. , Amanti, M. , Zeller, P. , Malitesta, C. , Rella, S. , Spencer, S. , Shard, A. , Kim, A. , Muramoto, S. , Engelhard, M. , Hagenhoff, B. , Bock, B. , Heuberger, R. , Dietrich, P. , Thissen, A. , Kjaervik, M. , Paul, D. , Newman, J. , Weimann, T. , Butefisch, S. , Spencer, N. and Rossi, A. (2020), Applying Planar, Patterned, Multimetallic Samples to Assess the Impact of Analysis Area in Surface-Chemical Analysis: results of a VAMAS Interlaboratory Comparison, Surface and Interface Analysis (Accessed April 25, 2024)