Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme

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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten

DS 1: Thin Film Properties

DS 1.9: Talk

Monday, March 17, 2025, 12:00–12:15, H3

Femtosecond Laser Ablation (fs-LA) - A New Approach to XPS Depth Profiling — •samir mammadov — Thermo Fisher Scientific, 1 The Feldbridge Centre, Imberhorne Lane, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 1XP, UK

XPS depth profiling is a widely employed analytical technique to determine the chemical composition of thin films, coatings and multi-layered structures, due to its ease of quantification, good sensitivity and chemical state information. Since the introduction of XPS as a surface analytical technique more than 50 years ago, depth profiles have been performed using ion beam sputtering. However, many organic and inorganic materials suffer from ion beam damage, resulting in incorrect chemical compositions to be recorded during the depth profile. This problem has been resolved for most polymers by using argon gas cluster ion beams (GCIBs), but the use of GCIBs does not solve the issue for inorganics. A prototype XPS depth profiling instrument has been constructed that employs a femtosecond laser rather than an ion beam for XPS depth profiling purposes. This novel technique has shown the capability of eradicating chemical damage during XPS depth profiling for all initial inorganic, compound semiconductor and organic materials examined. The technique is also capable of profiling to much greater depths (several 10s microns) and is much faster than traditional ion beam sputter depth profiling. fs-LA XPS depth profile results will be shown for selected thin films, coatings, multilayers and oxidised surfaces and the outlook for this new technique discussed.

Keywords: XPS; Laser Ablation; Depth Profiling