Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy

(RBS)
RBS is an ion scattering technique that is used for the surface layer analysis
of solids.

A target is bombarded with ions at an energy in the MeV-range (0.5–4 MeV)

The energy of the backscattered projectiles is recorded with an energy

sensitive detector, typically a solid state detector.

RBS allows the quantitative determination of the composition of a material

and depth profiling of individual elements.

RBS :
• is quantitative without the need for reference samples,

• is nondestructive,

• has a good depth resolution of the order of several nm,

• has a very good sensitivity for heavy elements of the order of parts-per-
million (ppm).
ELASTIC COULOMB SCATTERING
Consider an ion of charge z, mass m and initial kinetic energy Eo being
scattered elastically from a stationary nucleus of charge Z and mass M purely
by the Coulomb force. The final energy E of the scattered ion is a function of
the angle of scatter  from the initial direction and the ratio M/m.

M, 0 M, (Eo – E)
m, Eo Recoiling nucleus


Scattered ion
m, E
• Based on classical scattering in a central force field.

•Aside from the accelerator, which provides collimated beam of MeV

particles, the instrumentation is simple.
•Semiconductor nuclear particle detectors are used that have an output
voltage pulse proportional to the energy of the particles scattered from
the sample to the detector.
•Technique is quantitative as MeV He ions undergo close-impact
scattering collisions, governed by well known Coulomb scattering
between positively charged nuclei of the projectile and the target atom.
Kinematics of Elastic Collisions
•The kinematics of the collision and scattering cross-section are
independent of chemical bonding, and hence backscattering experiments
are insensitive to electronic configuration or chemical bonding with the
target.
•The energy ratio, called the
kinematic
factor K=E1/E0, shows that the
energy after scattering depends on
the masses of the particle and target
and the scattering angle.
•K values for different M2 are shown
in the figure for =170 degree.
The ability to distinguish between two types of target atoms that differ in their
masses by a small amount M2 is determined by the ability of the experimental
energy measurement system to resolve small differences E1 in the energies of
backscattered particles.

Energy resolution values of 10–20 keV, full width at half maximum (FWHM), for
MeV 4He+ ions can be obtained with conventional electronic systems. For
example, backscattering analysis with 2.0MeV 4He+ particles can resolve
isotopes up to about mass 40 (the chlorine isotopes, for example). Around target
masses close to 200, the mass resolution is about 20, which means that one
cannot distinguish among atoms between 181Ta and 201Hg.

In backscattering measurements, the signals from the semiconductor detector

electronic system are in the form of voltage pulses. The heights of the pulses are
proportional to the incident energy of the particles. The pulse height analyzer
stores pulses of a given height in a given voltage bin or channel (hence the
alternate description, multichannel analyzer). The channel numbers are
calibrated in terms of the pulse height, and hence there is a direct relationship
between channel number and energy.
•In the backscattering spectrometry, the mass difference of different
elements and isotopes can be distinguished.

•Absolute coverages can be determined from the absolute cross section.

•Spectrum is an illustration of the fact that heavy elements on a light

substrate can be investigated at coverages well below a monolayer.
Scattering Cross Section
The identity of target atoms is established by the energy of the scattered particle
after an elastic collision. The number Ns of target atoms per unit area is
determined by the probability of a collision between the incident particles and
target atoms as measured by the total number QD of detected particles for a
given number Q of particles incident on the target in the geometry shown in the
figure.
Central Force Scattering
The scattering cross section for central force scattering can be calculated for small
deflections from the impulse imparted to the particle as it passes the target
atom.
For Coulomb scattering, the distance of closest approach, d, of the projectile to
the scattering atom turns out to be much smaller than the Bohr radius. Thus the
use of an unscreened cross section is justified.

Scattering Cross Section: Two-Body

The scattering cross section was based on the one-body problem of the scattering
of a particle by a fixed center of force. However, the second particle is not fixed
but recoils from its initial position as a result of the scattering.
Energy Loss of Light Ions and Backscattering Depth Profiles

•Composition depth profiles can be obtained from RBS.

•The depth scale is established by the energy loss dE/dx of light (H+, d+, and He+)
ions at high energies (0.5–5 MeV) during their passage through the solid.

•The energy lost in penetration is directly proportional to the thickness of material

traversed, so a depth scale can be assigned directly and quantitatively to the
energy spectra of detected particles. The yield of backscattered particles is
proportional to the scattering cross sections, so the composition depth profile can
be found from knowledge of energy loss and cross sections.

General Picture of Energy Loss and Units of Energy Loss

•For light ions such as 4He+ penetrating a solid, the energetic particles lose energy
primarily through excitation and ionization in inelastic collisions with atomic
electrons—termed electronic-energy loss.
•Microscopically, energy loss due to excitation and ionization is a discrete process.
Macroscopically, however, it is a good assumption that the moving ions lose
energy continuously. All we are concerned with here is the average energy loss
during the penetration of ions into a given material.
•To measure energy loss, we must determine two quantities: the distance t that
the ions traverse in the target, and the energy loss E in this distance.

•The mass density ρ or the atomic density N are frequently combined with the
distance, in the form ρ  t or N  t, to express the amount of material per unit
area or the number of atoms per unit area that the projectiles have traversed in
losing energy  E to the target material.

•Energy loss can be expressed in several different ways. Some frequently used
units are:

Recently, most authors have adopted (1/N) dE/dx ( eV-cm2) as the stopping
cross-section ε.
Energy-loss components for a projectile that scatters from depth t. The sequence is:
energy lost via electronic stopping on inward path Ein; energy lost in the elastic
scattering process,  Es; and energy lost to electronic stopping in the outward path, 
Eout. Then E1 = Eo −  Ein −  Es −  Eout.
Energy Loss of MeV Light Ions in Solids
•When a He+ or H ion moves through matter, it loses energy through interactions
with electrons that are raised to excited states or ejected from atoms.

•The radii of atomic nuclei are so small compared with atomic dimensions that
nuclear scattering is rare compared with interactions with electrons; therefore, in
a first approximation, nuclear interactions may be neglected in the slowing down
process.

•When the projectile velocity v is much greater than that of an orbital electron
(fast-collision case), the influence of the incident particle on an atom may be
regarded as a sudden.

•This picture leads to Bohr’s theory of stopping power. The collision produces a
sudden transfer of energy from the projectile to the target electron. The energy
loss of a fast particle to a stationary nucleus or electron can be calculated from
scattering in a central-force field.

•The stopping cross section decreases with increasing velocity because the
particle spends less time in the vicinity of the atom.
•In the low energy (slow velocity) regime, this argument does not hold, and it is
found that the stopping power is proportional to velocity.

•The maximum in the stopping cross section is found at the energy separating
these two regions.

•In backscattering spectrometry, we are concerned with the region near and
above the maximum.
Energy Width in Backscattering
•As MeV He ions traverse the solid, they lose energy along their incident path at a
rate dE/dx between 300 and 600 eV/nm. In thin film analysis, to a good
approximation, the total energy loss E into a depth t is proportional to t. That is,
The subscripts in and out refer to the energies at which dE/dx is evaluated, and
[S] is often referred to as the backscattering energy loss factor. The backscattering
spectrum at  = 170◦ for 3 MeV 4He incident on a 400 nm Al film with thin Au
markers (∼ 3 monolayers of Au) on the front and back surfaces is shown in Fig.
The energy loss rate dE/dx along the inward path in Al is∼220 eV/nm at energies
of 3 MeV and is∼290 eV/nm on the outward path at energies of about 1.5 MeV
(K(Al)∼0.55). Inserting these values into Eq. 3.20, we obtain an energy width
E(Al) of 165 keV.
Depth Profiles with Rutherford Scattering

•The energy loss of light ions follows a well-behaved pattern in the MeV energy
range. The values of dE/dx or ε can be used to obtain composition depth profiles
from the energy spectra of backscattered particles.

•We illustrate the technique with backscattering spectra from an implanted Si

substrate and a thin film on Si.

•Figure shows a spectrum of As implanted into Si. The conversion of the energy
scale to a depth scale is given by Eq. 3.20 using K = K(As) and dE/dx for silicon.
The shift, E(As), indicates that the As is implanted below the surface of the Si.
•The upper section in Fig. shows a 100 nm Ni film on Si. Nearly all of the incident
4He+ beam penetrates microns into the target before it is stopped.

•Particles scattered from the front surface of the Ni have an energy given by the
kinematic equation, E1 = E0K , where K for 4He+ backscattered at a laboratory
angle of 170◦ is 0.76 for Ni and 0.57 for Si.

•As particles traverse the solid, they lose energy along their incident path at a
rate of about 640 eV/nm (assuming a bulk density for Ni of 8.9 g-cm−3). In thin
film analysis, to a good approximation, energy loss is linear with thickness.

•Thus, a 2 MeV particle will lose 64 keV penetrating to the Ni–Si interface.
Immediately after scattering from the interface, particles scattered from Ni will
have an energy of 1477 keV derived from KNi × (E0 − 64).

•On their outward path, particles will have slightly different energy loss due to
the energy dependence of the energy loss processes, in this case 690 eV nm −1.
On emerging from the surface, the 4He+ ions scattered from Ni at the interface
will have an energy of 1408 keV. The total energy difference E between particles
scattered at the surface and near the interface is 118 keV, a value that can be
derived from Eq. 3.20.
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