Synchrotron Radiation has become an important tool for the analysis of silicon surfaces in both fundamental and applied problems with techniques ranging from x-ray scattering to fluorescence. Applications that have been studied include the analysis of ultra-low levels of impurities on silicon wafer surfaces using the total external x-ray fluorescence technique (TXRF), measurement of silicon wafer surface roughness using crystal truncation rod scattering, measurement of the stress and defects associated with isolation trenches used in the fabrication of integrated circuits, and the study of transient enhanced diffusion in implanted silicon using x-ray diffuse scattering.

As the dimensions of integrated circuits become smaller and smaller, the thickness of the gate oxide is being reduced to a level where it has become necessary to control the process to virtually atomic levels. With oxide thicknesses less than 100 Angstroms, surface impurities can have deleterious affects on the oxide properties.