Electron-beam-induced diffusion during thin-film depth profiling

Diffusion induced by the electron bombardment during AES depth profiling is studied in multilayer thin films of Cu and Ni. The composition change depends both on the electron input power and on the actual film thickness since the heat dissipation by the metallic film is continuously reduced during sputtering. Theoretically, the temperature is estimated to rise up to 260 °C when an electron beam with an energy of 2 keV, electron current of 15 μA, and beam diameter of 80 μ is used.