MULTIPLE-POINT DEPTH PROFILING OF MULTILAYER CR/NI THIN-FILM STRUCTURES ON A ROUGH SUBSTRATE USING SCANNING AUGER MICROSCOPY

The influence of topographical effects on depth resolution was studied for multilayer Cr/Ni thin film structures which were sputter deposited onto silicon substrates with either smoothly polished or rough surfaces. The multilayer structures were analyzed using primary electron beams of two different diameters: 45 and 1 mu m. As expected, depth profiles of multilayer structures on a rough substrate obtained using the electron beam with the larger diameter show an increased broadening of the Cr-Ni interfaces. Multiple-point depth profiling enables several depth profiles of different microareas on a rough surface to be obtained simultaneously. If a microplane with a diameter larger than that of the primary electron beam is selected for analysis, considerable improvement in the depth resolution for the multilayer structure on a rough surface is obtained.