Nondestructive depth profiling by glancing-incidence and -takeoff X-ray fluorescence

We have developed a glancing-incidence and -takeoff X-ray fluorescence (GIT-XRF) method for a nondestructive surface analysis at normal air pressure. It has been shown that this method is useful for surface, interface, and thin-film analyses. In this method, the surface density and the elemental distribution in the depth are estimated by analyzing the angle dependence of the X-ray fluorescence. Thus, we applied the GIT-XRF method to a depth profiling of Au-Si interface. An Au thin film on a Si wafer was heated at 323 K, 473 K, and 523 K. It was found that Au atoms diffused into the Si substrate as the temperature increased. The depth distribution of Au was nondestructively estimated by the GIT-XRF method at the normal air pressure. (author)