Quantitative characterization of solid state phases by secondary neutral mass spectrometry

The quantitative determination of chemical solid phases by secondary neutral mass spectrometry (SNMS) based on the quantitative character of this technique is described and demonstrated for several thin film structures. The intermetallic phases in a Ni–Zn coating on Fe are shown to be achieved directly from the concentration ratios determined by SNMS. When correlating the local elemental concentration tupels with the corresponding phase fractions by a matrix equation, the determination of chemical solid phase depth profiles becomes possible. This is exemplified by the detection of temperature induced chemical phases in Ni and Ti/Si films on SiC substrates.