SECONDARY ION MASS-SPECTROMETRY DEPTH PROFILING OF BORON, ANTIMONY, AND GERMANIUM DELTAS IN SILICON AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFILE DECONVOLUTION

This article describes the shape of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) depth profiles from ultra thin "delta-layers" in silicon, and its dependence on the impurity species and the primary beam energy. The impurities studied are boron, antimony, and germanium in epitaxial layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The use of the data for the assessment of depth resolution and the quantification or synthesis of SIMS profiles from thicker layers and distributions is discussed. Possible limits to deconvolution are explored.