The optimization of incident angles of low-energy oxygen ion beams for increasing sputtering rate on silicon samples

Abstract In order to determine an appropriate incident angle of low-energy (350-eV) oxygen ion beam for achieving the highest sputtering rate without degradation of depth resolution in SIMS analysis, a delta-doped sample was analyzed with incident angles from 0° to 60° without oxygen bleeding. As a result, 45° incidence was found to be the best analytical condition, and it was confirmed that surface roughness did not occur on the sputtered surface at 100-nm depth by using AFM. By applying the optimized incident angle, sputtering rate becomes more than twice as high as that of the normal incident condition.