Wash and rinse: Thin film trace level surface contamination
Adhesion, reliability and appearance of coatings can be affected by surface residue. The efficacy of the cleaning process should be well understood, and identification of any residues should be investigated.
Figure 1 shows Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) which has very high sensitivity and a very shallow sampling depth making it ideal for detecting organic and inorganic surface residues. Residues can have a detrimental effect on coating adhesion, appearance, yields and performance. TOF-SIMS survey analysis shows:
- Identity of residues
- Difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’
- ppm detection limits