PMID- 20545300
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
DCOM- 20100929
LR  - 20100630
IS  - 1520-6882 (Electronic)
IS  - 0003-2700 (Linking)
VI  - 82
IP  - 13
DP  - 2010 Jul 1
TI  - Depth profiling of nanometer coatings by low temperature plasma probe combined 
      with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.
PG  - 5872-7
LID - 10.1021/ac101147t [doi]
AB  - The development of material science increasingly calls for rapid characterization 
      methods with low limits of detection and high spatial resolution. Here we report 
      a depth profile analysis method for thin layer coatings by combining low 
      temperature plasma (LTP) probe with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry 
      (ICP-MS). The LTP probe with diameter of several tens of micrometers served as a 
      tool for mass removal, which is generated by the discharge in a quartz capillary 
      at ambient condition. The sample material is ablated by the LTP probe and 
      converted into an aerosol, and transported by a carrier gas flow to the ICP-MS, 
      where the decomposed and ionized aerosol particles are analyzed with high 
      sensitivity. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs reveal that the trace 
      after ablation by the LTP probe is a hole with a diameter less than 10 microm. A 
      lateral resolution of approximately 200 microm has been achieved by analyzing an 
      electron component with interval metal stripes. Depth profiling of a 100 nm 
      single layer sample and a multiple layer sample (100 nm Al/250 nm SiO(2)/100 nm 
      Au/50 nm Cr) on a silicon substrate have been successfully performed at ambient 
      condition. The present method offers unique advantages in terms of high spatial 
      resolution, fast analysis speed and ease of implementation. It might be 
      considered a complementary technique to existing depth profiling methods such as 
      GD-MS/OES, AES, and SIMS. In addition, the simple-to-fabricate LTP probe is 
      easily coupled to various other elemental analysis tools for thin layer or direct 
      solid sample analysis in micro area.
FAU - Xing, Zhi
AU  - Xing Z
AD  - Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory for Atomic and Molecular Nanosciences of 
      the Education Ministry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, PR China.
FAU - Wang, Juan
AU  - Wang J
FAU - Han, Guojun
AU  - Han G
FAU - Kuermaiti, Biekesailike
AU  - Kuermaiti B
FAU - Zhang, Sichun
AU  - Zhang S
FAU - Zhang, Xinrong
AU  - Zhang X
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - Anal Chem
JT  - Analytical chemistry
JID - 0370536
EDAT- 2010/06/16 06:00
MHDA- 2010/06/16 06:01
CRDT- 2010/06/16 06:00
PHST- 2010/06/16 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2010/06/16 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2010/06/16 06:01 [medline]
AID - 10.1021/ac101147t [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Anal Chem. 2010 Jul 1;82(13):5872-7. doi: 10.1021/ac101147t.