Influence of different metal concentrations on the morphology of Ag–As2Ch3 thin films analyzed by Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy

Abstract Silver content in the thin layers from the chalcogenide Ag–As2Ch3 system has been investigated using two quantitative techniques: Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). RBS is considered to be very useful and precise technique for surface analysis because it gives information about surface properties, measures composition, depth and thickness of thin film layers, and absolute concentration of elements. RBS analysis was performed on Agx(As40S30Se30)100-x thin films with x ≤ 5 at.% Ag. EDS measurements obtained by processing the recorded SEM images enabled performance of quantitative analysis of the samples. Amorphous films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique from previously synthesized bulk samples. The thickness was evaluated using SIMNRA software. It was found that layer thicknesses vary from sample to sample being in the range 2.2–4.2 μm. Results showed that in all layers the constituent elements are distributed homogeneously. Measured concentrations of Ag atoms are found to be higher than the expected.