Study of charge effect during Cs+ sputtering of polystyrene in the pre-equilibrium regime
(2011) Surface and Interface Analysis — Vol. 43, p. 201-203 (2011)
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- Abstract
- This study investigates the effect of the insulating nature of polystyrene thin films on the SIMS signal during Cs+ sputtering. A threshold primary fluence ϕth (∼3 × 1014 cm−2 for a 150 nm film) marks the transition between different behaviours for charge accumulation/neutralization and their effects on the detected SIMS signal. For Cs+ fluences lower than ϕth, the voltage difference between the surface and the conductive substrate increases linearly with the film thickness. This voltage difference is due to the accumulation of positive charge on the film surface, which causes a breakdown in the SIMS signal. At fluence ϕth, the accumulated charge density induces in the polystyrene film a high electric field permitting to reach the dielectric breakdown voltage, i.e. theminimum voltage that causes a portion of an insulator to become electrically conductive. In this paper, we will suppose that the positive charge, previously accumulated on the surface, could be then neutralized through the conductive regions, which are created in the insulating film.
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Wahoud, F., Mouhib, T., Audinot, J. N., Delcorte, A., & Migeon, H. N. (2011). Study of charge effect during Cs+ sputtering of polystyrene in the pre-equilibrium regime. Surface and Interface Analysis, 43, 201-203. https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.3419 (Original work published 2011)