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The Key Comparison K67 and the parallel Pilot Study P108 on quantitative analysis of thin alloy films have been completed in the Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG) of the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM). The aim of these inter-laboratory comparisons is to determine the degree of equivalence in the measurement capability of national metrology institutes (NMIs) and designated institutes (DIs) for the determination of the composition of thin alloy films. The measurand is expressed in atomic percent. A Fe-Ni alloy film with a certified composition was available for the participants of the inter-laboratory comparison. It has been used as a reference specimen to determine the relative sensitivity factors (RSF) of Fe and Ni for the different analytical methods used by the participants to determine the composition of the test sample. As was shown in the preceding Pilot Study P98, the degrees of equivalence in the measurement capabilities of the participants can be improved in that way. The composition of the reference specimen was certified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) using the isotope dilution method. The in-depth and lateral homogeneity, determined in terms of elemental composition, of the certified reference sample and the unknown test sample were confirmed by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) using C60 primary ions by the leading laboratory. Five laboratories participated in the key comparison. Four of them used x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and one Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). One laboratory participated in the parallel P108 pilot study using electron probe micro analysis with an energy-dispersive spectrometer (ED EPMA) and XPS.
A pilot study for the quantitative surface analysis of multi-element alloy films has been performed by the Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG) of the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM). The aim of this pilot study is to ensure the equivalency in the measurement capability of national metrology institutes for the quantification of multi-element alloy films. A Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) film with non-uniform depth distribution was chosen as a representative multi-element alloy film. The atomic fractions of the reference and the test CIGS films were certified by isotope dilution - inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry. A total number counting (TNC) method was used as a method to determine the signal intensities of the constituent elements, which are compared with their certified atomic fractions. The atomic fractions of the CIGS films were measured by various methods, such as Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis and Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA) with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDX). Fifteen laboratories from eight National Metrology Institutes (NMIs), one Designated Institute (DI) and six non-NMIs participated in this pilot study. Although the average atomic fractions of 18 data sets showed rather poor relative standard deviations of about 5.5 % to 6.8 %, they were greatly improved to about 1.5 % to 2.2 % by excluding 5 strongly deviating data sets from the average atomic fractions. In this pilot study, the average expanded uncertainties of SIMS, XPS, AES, XRF and EPMA were 3.84%, 3.68%, 3.81%, 2.88% and 2.90%, respectively. These values are much better than those in the key comparison K-67 for composition of a Fe-Ni alloy film. As a result, the quantification of CIGS films using the TNC method was found to be a good candidate as a subject for a CCQM key comparison.
CCQM key comparison K-129 for the quantitative analysis of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) films has been performed by the Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG) of the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM). The objective of this key comparison is to compare the equivalency of the National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) and Designated Institutes (DIs) for the measurement of mole fractions of Cu, In, Ga and Se in a thin CIGS film. The measurand of this key comparison is the average mole fractions of Cu, In, Ga and Se of a test CIGS alloy film in the unit of mole fraction (mol/mol). Mole fraction with the metrological unit of mol/mol can be practically converted to atomic fraction with the unit of at%.
In this key comparison, a CIGS film with certified mole fractions was supplied as a reference specimen to determine the relative sensitivity factors (RSFs) of Cu, In, Ga and Se. The mole fractions of the reference specimen were certified by isotope dilution - inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry (ID-ICP/MS) and are traceable to the SI. A total number counting (TNC) method was recommended as a method to determine the signal intensities of the constituent elements acquired in the depth profiles by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES). Seven NMIs and one DI participated in this key comparison. The mole fractions of the CIGS films were measured by depth profiling based-SIMS, AES and XPS. The mole fractions were also measured by non-destructive X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analysis and Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA) with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDX).
In this key comparison, the average degrees of equivalence uncertainties for Cu, In, Ga and Se are 0.0093 mol/mol, 0.0123 mol/mol, 0.0047 mol/mol and 0.0228 mol/mol, respectively. These values are much smaller than that of Fe in a Fe-Ni alloy film in CCQM K-67 (0.0330 mol/mol). This means that the quantification of multi-element alloy films is possible by depth profiling analysis using the TNC method.
A pilot study (PS) has been performed under the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM) / Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG) with the objective to compare the atomic fractions of Cu, In, Ga and Se in CIGS alloy films. Four polycrystalline CIGS films with different atomic fractions were fabricated by variation of the relative atomic fraction of Ga on 100 mm x 100 mm soda-lime glass (SLG) substrates. Similar to real solar cells the atomic fractions of the four elements (Cu, In, Ga, Se) are not homogeneous with depth. For the analysis of the CIGS layers of about 2 μm thickness depth profiling with surface analysis techniques such as XPS, AES and SIMS was recommended. A CIGS alloy reference sample with atomic fractions certified by isotope dilution ICP-MS at KRISS has been also put at disposal by the coordinator of the comparison. The certified values were close to the atomic fractions of the samples to be analyzed. Hence, the atomic fractions of Cu, In, Ga and Se in the CIGS films could be determined by the relative sensitivity factors (RSF) derived from the reference CIGS film. The total ion intensities of the constituent elements were obtained by the total number counting (TNC) method.
CCQM (Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance - Metrology in Chemistry) is an international body of the Meter Convention (BIPM) established as a framework of National Metrology Institutes running inter-laboratory of comparisons to demonstrate the international comparability of chemical measurements, with traceability to international or national reference standards. In 2003 the surface analysis working group (SAWG) was established at CCQM and since then several inter-laboratory comparisons in the field of EPMA have been carried out. In many cases the EPMA results deviated significantly from each other and the expanded uncertainties were greater than expected. Both methods EDS and WDS were employed. However, light elements such as carbon and nitrogen were the major elements analyzed and it is known that the corresponding lowenergy characteristic X-ray lines are more challenging to quantify by EPMA than the higher energy lines of elements with higher atomic numbers. Moreover, the standards selected and their qualities were variable, the quantification models were different, and the acquisition parameters were not specified sufficiently in the analysis instructions.
An inter-laboratory comparison organized as a pilot study (PS) has been performed under the umbrella of the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance – Metrology in Chemistry (CCQM) / Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG) with the objective to compare k-values measured with Electron Probe X-ray Microanalysis (EPMA) for copper-gold alloys. The k-value, defined as the ratio of the Xray photon intensity of an X-ray characteristic line of the unknown sample to the corresponding one in the reference material, is a rough estimate of the mass fraction of the respective element. Basically, the mass fractions can be calculated from the k-values after applying a matrix correction procedure, which includes empirical approaches, so that traceability gets lost. Due to its physical, measurable nature, the k-value has been selected in the present PS as the primary measurand. The mass fraction has been set as the secondary (derived) measurand. Both EDX and WDX have been employed. The WDX results and the overall comparability between the k-values obtained by EDX and WDX are still in progress.
The elemental composition of thin Fe-Ni alloy films deposited on silicon substrates were determined by electron probe microanalysis with an energy dispersive spectrometer using the STRATAGem software. The work was part of ample inter-laboratory comparisons organized in the frame of CCQM/SAWG (Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance/Surface Analysis Working Group). Therefore, the evaluation of the measurement uncertainties is treated in detail. By having the mass coverage and estimating a layer density, the layer thickness could be derived.