Project Details:

Critical evaluation of the state of the art of the analysis of light elements in thin films

The result of the project is a critical review and a guideline for the analysis of light elements in thin films which is not available up to date. Thus, it will be useful for scientists and technologists developing and applying such films in a variety of fields.

The quantitative analysis of thin films containing light elements is very important to improve the coating processes as well as the technological properties of the products. In order to review the state of the art of modern analytical techniques for such applications, the model systems of SiO_XN_Y and AlO_XN_Y were selected. Over 1000 abstracts were screened and the relevant literature was evaluated to give a comprehensive overview of instruments, analytical procedures and results, film types, deposition methods, and investigation goals. From more than 150 citations the limitations, drawbacks, and pitfalls of the different methods were extracted and reviewed critically, while in addition improvements were proposed where possible. These suggestions are combined with the newest investigation results of the authors of this paper. Based on all results, recommendations concerning the optimised combination of analytical methods for different analytical problems have been worked out. The applicability of the different methods of analysis in combination to all related film systems was proven by analyzing various multi-component systems containing light elements.

Project completed - IUPAC Technical Report published in Pure Appl. Chem. 76(6), 1161-1213, 2004

• Friedbacher, Gernot

• Dreer, Sabine
• Wilhartitz, Peter