Depth resolution of TOF-ERDA using a He beam

Depth resolution of time-of-flight ERDA using a ⁴He beam (He TOF-ERDA) has been studied. The measurement system consists of a time detector of the ion transmission type and a silicon surface-barrier detector. Depth resolution was measured using samples of carbon layers on silicon wafers and ⁴He beams with energies between 3.5 and 10.1 MeV. The depth resolution of 6.0 ± 1.6 nm (FWHM) was obtained with a 3.5 MeV ⁴He incident beam. The measured depth resolution agreed with that evaluated by a calculation. Comparison with other methods such as heavy ion (HI) TOF-ERDA, resonant elastic scattering and nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) was performed. Depth resolution obtained by He TOF-ERDA is superior to that by NRA or resonant elastic scattering, and comparable to that by HI TOF-ERDA.