High resolution electron microscopy of interfaces between epitaxial thin films and semiconductors

Abstract

It is an important aim of structural characterization techniques to relate their fruit to the physical or chemical properties of the system being examined. High resolution electron microscopy can provide information about local atomic arrangements at interfaces. In this paper the nature of this data and the means for extracting it from images is described. Examples are drawn from studies of epitaxial thin films on semiconductors where meaningful correlation between interfacial atomic structure and physical properties has proved possible. These include Schottky barrier heights at silicide/silicon interfaces whose atomic structure has been well-characterized by microscopy. Considerable attention is given to the extent to which direct or “intuitive” interpretation is valid in axial illumination imaging of semiconductor interfaces and the degree to which numerical image simulation is required.