Preparation and detection of reconstructed plan-view surfaces

Abstract

It is shown that ion-beam thinning and cleaning of bulk single-crystal samples coupled with annealing can produce surfaces suitable for conventional plan-view imaging including HREM. The key elements are to ensure the absolute cleanliness of the sample preparation system, care in choosing proper ion beam energies, and choosing the appropriate annealing conditions so as to minimize coarsening by bulk diffusion. The presence of surface reconstructions can be readily detected in off-zone diffraction patterns and in on-zone two-beam bright- and dark-field images.