Thin film characterization by nuclear microanalysis

Nuclear microanalysis is a nondestructive method for quantitatively profiling the constituents of thin films. It needs no calibration samples. It excels in determining atomic concentrations with depth, in finding reactions and diffusions across interfaces, and in detecting contamination. A summary will be given of recent work in the fields of dielectric films, metal alloy films, and profiling impurities in semiconductors.