Response function during oxygen sputter profiling and its application to deconvolution of ultrashallow B depth profiles in Si

The secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) response function to a B “δ surface layer” has been investigated. Using electron-gun evaporation combined with liquid nitrogen cooling of target, we are able to deposit an ultrathin B layer without detectable island formation. The B spatial distribution obtained from SIMS is exponentially decaying with a decay length approximately a linear function of the incident energy of the oxygen during the SIMS analysis. Deconvolution with the response function has been applied to reconstruct the spatial distribution of ultra-low-energy B implants. A correction to depth and yield scales due to transient sputtering near the Si surface region was also applied. Transient erosion shifts the profile shallower, but beam mixing shifts it deeper. These mutually compensating effects make the adjusted distribution almost the same as original data. The one significant difference is a buried B peak observed near the surface region.