A multi-ion plasma FIB study: Determining ion implantation depths of Xe, N, O and Ar in tungsten via atom probe tomography

In this study atom probe tomography was used to determine the implantation depth of four different plasma FIB ion species - xenon, argon, nitrogen, and oxygen - implanted at different acceleration voltages. It was found that lowering the beam energy reduces the implantation depth, but significant implantation was still observed for N, O and Ar at beam energies as low as 2 kV. Furthermore, nitrides and oxides were observed that were formed when using N and O. Xe had the lowest implantation depth compared to Ar, N and O when using the same conditions. No Xe ions were detected in the sample prepared at 2 kV. Experimentally-determined implantation depths were compared to calculated implantation depths. The experiments exhibited deeper-than-predicted ion implantation into the microstructure, but lower-than-predicted ion concentrations.

Automated summary

The study found that lowering the beam energy reduces the implantation depth of plasma FIB ion species, and significant implantation was still observed at low beam energies for N, O and Ar. Nitrides and oxides were formed when using N and O, and Xe had the lowest implantation depth compared to Ar, N and O.