Quantitative depth profile analysis of boron implanted silicon by pulsed radiofrequency glow discharge time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The analytical potential of pulsed radiofrequency glow discharge time-of-flight mass spectrometry (pulsed-rf-GD-TOFMS) is investigated for fast quantitative analysis of major and dopant elements in bulk and thin film layers. This technique does not require sampling at ultra-high vacuum conditions and so it facilitates high sample throughput compared to reference techniques as secondary ionization mass spectrometry (SIMS). In this paper, bulk and boron implanted silicon samples are analyzed. Boron concentration in Si samples is calculated from calibration curves obtained using solar grade silicon and B doped silicon wafers as calibrating materials, and using 29Si+ ion signal as internal standard. Qualitative depth profiles of 10B implanted silicon are determined in a few seconds using the low-pressure pulsed-rf-GD-TOFMS system. Additionally, quantitative depth profiles are easily determined making use of the calibration curves. A good agreement with the depth profiles measured using SIMS was obtained, demonstrating the analytical potential of the pulsed-GD-TOFMS system for fast, sensitive and high depth resolution analysis of implanted silicon samples.