Patent · US Expired

Method for sample analysis by sputtering with a particle beam, and device to implement said method

US4912325A · kind A · utility

6Cited by
3References
5Claims
0Family size

Assignees

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 9, 1988
Grant dateMar 27, 1990
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 9, 2008

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01J49/061
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Disclosed are a method for the analysis of a sample by sputtering, using a particle beam, and a device to implement this method. The method consists in: PA0 scanning the sample on a surface called a scanning surface, to hollow out a crater with a flat bed, said flat bed constituting a surface called a surface of analysis; PA0 ionizing the particles liberated from the surface of analysis, by means of a pulsed laser beam PA0 identifying the nature of the liberated and ionized particles by means of a mass spectrometer. The idle time available between two pulses of the laser beam is used to sputter the flanks of the crater, for these flanks also have to be sputtered although they do not form part of the surface of analysis proper. Thus the time needed to sputter the sample up to a certain depth is reduced to the minimum without loss of information.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.