GD-profiler 2

The HORIBA GD-Profiler 2 is a glow discharge optical emission spectrometer (GDOES) — a fundamentally different analytical technique from XRF — designed specifically for quantitative elemental depth profiling of layered materials: thin films, coatings, surface treatments, and diffusion zones from the outermost surface down to the bulk substrate. Glow discharge is a plasma sputtering technique: an argon plasma generated between the sample surface (anode) and a cathode sputters material from the sample atom by atom. The sputtered atoms are excited in the plasma and emit characteristic optical radiation that is measured by a high-resolution spectrometer, yielding simultaneous multi-element elemental signals as a function of sputtering time. Since sputtering proceeds layer by layer from the surface inward, the resulting time-resolved elemental signals directly represent the elemental composition as a function of depth — a depth profile. With appropriate calibration standards, the GD-Profiler 2 converts these signals to quantitative elemental concentration profiles versus depth in nanometers or micrometers. The GD-Profiler 2 is capable of profiling through nanometer-thick oxide layers, PVD/CVD coatings (TiN, TiAlN, DLC, nitride, carbide), multilayer optical coatings, electroplated layers, galvanized zinc coatings, and plasma/thermal nitriding/carburizing diffusion zones. All elements from hydrogen to uranium can be detected, including light elements (H, C, N, O) that are critical for understanding hardening layers, oxidation, and hydrogenation. The depth resolution is excellent (a few nanometers at the surface) and the sputtering rate is fast, enabling profiling through thick coatings (tens of micrometers) in just a few minutes. Key application areas include: quality control of hard coatings in cutting tools and molds (TiN, CrN, DLC thickness and composition), characterization of galvanic or hot-dip coatings in steel and automotive industries, semiconductor and solar cell layer analysis, and research in surface engineering and thin film deposition. NewRoad provides the HORIBA GD-Profiler 2 in Israel for materials science research, coating QC, and surface engineering laboratories.