A short note on the SIMS characterisation of ZnO/Si(100) interface

TL;DR

This paper investigates the chemical composition and depth profile of a 25 nm ZnO film on Si(100) using SIMS, revealing detailed interface layers and confirming film uniformity and thickness.

Contribution

It provides a detailed chemical and physical characterization of the ZnO/Si(100) interface using SIMS and profilometry, offering insights into interface composition and film uniformity.

Findings

Identified specific interface layers and their chemical composition.

Confirmed uniformity and accurate thickness of the ZnO film.

Validated SIMS depth profiling with profilometry measurements.

Abstract

The ZnO films, 25 nm thick were deposited by e-beam evaporation of ZnO (99.9%) pellets onto native oxide covered silicon (100) substrates. Details of the interface chemical composition and the chemical depth profile have been deduced as follows: Adsorbed OH surface/OH: ZnO Interface/Pure ZnO thin film/ZnO:H: Si Interface/H:SiO2/SiO2/Si(100). The physical profile of the crater formed by the SIMS depth profiling was measured with a Tencor P-2 profilometer as depth profiling showed uniform ion milling and good consistency with film thickness (25 nm) measured by SIMS depth profile (25.4 nm).