Non-destructive depth analysis of the surface oxide layer on MgSi with XPS and XAS

Esaka, Fumitaka  ; Nojima, Takehiro; Udono, Haruhiko*; Magara, Masaaki  ; Yamamoto, Hiroyuki

XPS is widely used for non-destructive chemical state analysis of solid materials. In this method, depth profiling can be carried out by a combination with ion beam sputtering. However, the sputtering often causes segregation and preferential sputtering of atoms and gives inaccurate information. The use of energy-tunable X-rays from synchrotron radiation (SR) enables us to perform non-destructive depth profiling in XPS. Here, the analytical depth can be changed by changing excitation X-ray energy. In the present study, we examined methods to perform depth profiling with XPS by changing excitation energy and XAS by changing electron energy for detection. These methods were then applied to the analysis of native surface oxide layers on MgSi crystals. In this XAS analysis, the peak at 1843.4 eV becomes dominant when the electron energy for detection increases, which implies that Si-O or Si-O-Mg structure is formed as the surface oxide layer on the MgSi.