2009 Volume 15 Issue 3 Pages 259-263
It has been shown, in recent reports, that the backscattering factor (BF) in AES noticeably depends on the in-depth structure of the surface region. Consequently, the signal intensity due to an analyzed element in sputter depth profiling experiments cannot be described with a single BF value. The BF depends on the removed amount of the material and thus varies with time of sputtering. This effect is illustrated here on the example of the thin Ni layer buried in the Au matrix at different depths. The algorithms for calculating the BF for a thin layer of analyzed material are briefly discussed.
