Ion-beam depth-profiling studies of leached glasses

Abstract
Ion-beam depth-profiling was carried out on three different glasses leached (or hydrated) in deionized water using 1H(19F, αγ)16O nuclear reaction, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and sputter-induced photon spectrometry (SIPS) techniques. The depth-profiles show an interdiffusion mechanism in which the sodium ions in the glass are depleted and replaced by hydrogen (H+) or hydronium (H3O+) ions from the solution. The leaching behavior does not show significant difference whether the glass surface is fractured or polished. Problems of mobile ion migration caused by ion bombardment and loss of hydrogen during analysis are discussed.