Determination of boron in the thin surface layer of a silicon wafer by instrumental charged particle activation analysis

Instrumental charged particle activation analysis (CPAA) for determining boron in a thin surface layer of silicon was developed. The nuclear reaction and incident energy were selected in order to minimize any interference from surface or bulk impurities. Thin boron film was used as a standard sample and its boron content was determined by neutron induced prompt gamma-ray analysis. As a result, we were able to determine B-11 and B-10 at 10(15) atoms/cm(2) with an accuracy of better than 3% by 4 MeV proton and 7 MeV alpha-bombardment, respectively, Each boron isotope could be determined down to 10(13) atoms/cm(2). Our CPAA was applied to determine boron in a boron implanted silicon wafer of a SIMS standard sample.