Quantitative evaluation of titanium nitrides in the presence of carbon and oxygen contaminants using the Ti L3M23V Auger transition

A method for quantitative compositional analysis of both Ti and N, as well as the content of the frequent carbon and oxygen contaminants for titanium nitrides, has been proposed using the Ti L3M23V Auger structure. Samples with different elemental compositions were obtained by N2+ and Ar+ bombardment of metallic titanium. Monitoring simultaneously the XPS spectra and x‐ray ‐excited Ti L3M23V Auger transition, the latter being resolved into its inter‐ and intra‐ atomic Auger components, a linear dependence between the area fraction corresponding to the intra‐atomic component and the atomic titanium fraction was found. From analysis of experimental data, the ratio between the area of the intra‐atomic Auger component and the integrated intensity of the Ti 2p photoemission doublet was assumed to be linear function of the titanium fraction. From these relations, atomic fractions of Ti, N, O and C are determined using only Auger features in combination with the oxygen and carbon signals. The results obtained by this method are in good agreement with XPS values in the analysed range (40% < Ti < 80%; N < 60%; C < 25%; O < 15%).