Total reflection x-ray fluorescence: Determination of an optimum geometry
- Pohang Univ. of Science and Technology (Korea, Republic of)
- Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (United States)
Total reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF) is a widely used technique in which the normal trace element detection capability of hard x-ray fluorescence (XRF) is enhanced by use of an x-ray reflective substrate. TXRF is more sensitive than normal photon induced XRF due to the reduction of the substrate scattering and fluorescence signals. This reduction comes about because in total external reflection, the photon field only penetrates about 20 {angstrom} into the surface, instead of typically 50 {mu}m for a silicon substrate at normal incidence for 10 KeV photons. The technique is used in many fields of trace element analysis, and is widely used in the determination of metal impurity concentrations on and in the surface of silicon wafers. The Semiconductor Industry Association roadmap (SIA) indicates a need for wafer contamination detection at the 10{sup 7}atoms/cm{sup 2} level in the next few years. Current commercial systems using rotating anode x-ray sources presently routinely operate with a sensitivity level of around 10{sup 10} atoms/cm{sup 2} and this has led to interest in the use of synchrotron radiation to extend the sensitivity by three orders of magnitude. The pioneering work of Pianetta and co-workers at SSRL has clearly shown that this should be possible, using a fully optimized source and detector. The purpose of this work is to determine whether ALS would be a suitable source for this type of highly sensitive wafer TXRF. At first look it appears improbable as the SSRL work used a high flux multipole wiggler source, and it is clear that the detected fluorescence for relevant concentrations is small. In addition, SSRL operates at 3.0 GeV rather than 1.9 GeV, and is therefore more naturally suited to hard x-ray experiments. The aim of this work was therefore to establish a theoretical model for the scattering and fluorescence processes, so that one could predict the differences between alternative geometries and select an optimum configuration.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00098
- OSTI ID:
- 603705
- Report Number(s):
- LBNL-39981; ON: DE97007345; TRN: 98:009627
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Apr 1997; Related Information: Is Part Of Advanced light source: Compendium of user abstracts 1993--1996; PB: 622 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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