Nitrogen depth profiling using the 14N(n,p)4C reaction

Abstract A way of examining nitrogen depth profiles by means of the 14 N(n,p) 14 C reaction is presented, and compared to other techniques. With some simple improvements of our present measuring set-up, it may become a very useful nitrogen profiling technique. Some nitrogen distributions are given as examples: a systematic study was made of 1.5 MeV 14 N implanted into various elementary targets, comparing the experimental results to theoretical predictions. It is shown that by alternating sputter deposition and implantation in a nitrogen glow discharge plasma, thick nitride layers can be formed which may be interesting for tribological applications. Further, some applications in archaeometry are presented.