Sputter Gun Arrangement

The sputter guns are mounted on a dual source column on which two ion sources are installed. The dual source column is designed to optimize the conditions for ultra-shallow depth profiling at very low sputtering energies, 200 eV to 2 keV. The sputter sources are an electron impact gas source for oxygen and the noble gases and a Cs source. Both sources are mounted on the dual source column.

Oxygen has the effect of conditioning the sample surface to enhance the ion yields of the electropositive elements (B⁺, Al⁺, Cr⁺, ?). The availability of different gas ions gives flexibility for a variety of applications.

A cesium source provides good ion yields for the electronegative elements (N^-, O^-, Cl^-, etc.).