Depth profiling of yttria-stabilized zirconia film by SIMS

Abstract

SIMS was applied to quantitative depth profiling of yttria-stabilized zirconia film. We studied problems involved in the SIMS quantitative analysis of insulating materials, such as the electrical charge buildup on the surface induced by the bombarding ion beam and the matrix effect on the secondary ion yield. The electron flood proved to effectively neutralize the charge on the surface. The relationship between the secondary ion intensity and the yttria concentration was investigated using calibration standards prepared by sintering binary mixtures of yttria and zirconia. The resulting calibration curve showed that the relative secondary ion yield was not affected by the matrix composition over a wide concentration range and the yttria concentration could be determined by means of a linear equation. Increase of the ion yield in the presence of oxygen results in suppression of the matrix effect. The quantitative results obtained by SIMS were consistent with those obtained by EPMA and ICP-AES. SIMS is expected to be applied to the analysis of many kinds of materials.