Ion beam assisted deposition is applied to cover a gas sensor microarray of an electronic nose with an ultrathin gas-permeable SiO2 membrane varying in thickness across the array. Auger electron spectroscopy sputter depth profiles and, non-Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy were used to study the uniformity of the deposition and the subsequent annealing step. The combination of spectroscopic ellipsometry for the freshly prepared membranes and line scans derived from Auger and angle resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively, for the baked membrane is presented as a powerful quantification method for the determination of the desired SiO2 membrane thickness profiles. (C) 2003 American Vacuum Society.