Damage evaluation after ion beam irradiation on polyimide films using ERD and RBS techniques simultaneously

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms Beam interactions with materials and atoms, 2004-06, Vol.219, p.236-240
• Main Authors: Kaneko, T., Watamori, M., Makita, H., Araujo, C., Kano, G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ERD; Hydrogen detection; Irradiation damage; KAPTON; Polyimide; RBS
• ISSN: 0168-583X; 1872-9584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2004.01.060

Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) with swift ion probes is generally known as a non-destructive characterization technique for metal and semiconductor samples. On the other hand, it is also known that the technique may cause severe damages on organic insulators such as polyimide films. In this work, using the ERD (elastic recoil detection) and the RBS techniques simultaneously, the irradiation damage in a polyimide sample (Kapton-H) induced by 1.5 MeV helium ions has been evaluated by monitoring the evolution of depth profiles of hydrogen and oxygen while increasing the fluence of the primary helium ions from 1.4 × 10 14 to 2.8 × 10 15 cm −2. In the surface region of the polyimide sample, where electronic stopping is predominant, a progressive hydrogen depletion approaching 50% of the amount contained in a pristine sample has been observed. At the same time, a gradual depletion of oxygen in the near surface region of the irradiated sample has been observed.