Aluminum impurities in silicon: Investigation of x-ray Raman scattering in total reflection x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

Total reflection x-ray fluorescence using synchrotron radiation from the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory has been used to study Al impurities on Si wafer surfaces. For primary excitation energies below the Si K absorption edge an inelastic resonance scattering due to resonant x-ray Raman scattering is observed. This scattering dominates the background behavior of the Al K fluorescence line, and consequently limits the achievable sensitivity for detection of Al surface contaminants. The energy and angle dependence of the resonant x-ray Raman scattering has been investigated to determine the experimental conditions for which the highest sensitivity for Al can be achieved. We find that for a precise determination of the achievable sensitivity, the specific shape of the continuous Raman background has to be taken into account. Our calculations demonstrate a minimum detection limit for Al of 6×109 atoms/cm2 for a 10 000 s count time.