Stopping Power Effects on Rutherford Backscattering Analysis in Thick Targets

摘要

Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) analysis has become an increasingly important method of characterizing material surface. Its advantages lie in the fact it is non-destructive and can yield absolute results on elemental constituents as well as their depth concentration profiles. The accuracy of stopping powers of ions in matter are one of the major factors which affect the accuracy of RBS. The RBS simulation code PROFILE is used to analyze samples containing Cu, Ni, and A1 with several different sets of stopping powers. The results indicate that a given uncertainty in the stopping power may lead to equivalent uncertainties in elemental concentrations and thickness of coatings. The results also indicate that the analysis of thick target RBS data with a complete simulation code such as PROFILE may be very valuable in determining stopping powers of elements.