Abstract
Techniques for routine UHV in situ electron microscopy of epitaxial growth processes of thin films are described for a wide variety of deposit-substrate combinations. The column vacuum of a commercial electron microscope is improved to 10-5 Pa simply by scrupulous reassembly. The top-entry specimen chamber of the microscope, into which the evaporator system is inserted, is differentially evacuated to 4-7 mu Pa by a sublimation pump and an orbital ion pump. The substrate crystal set on the side-entry specimen stage is surrounded by a cryogenic tip which can be cooled by liquid nitrogen or helium so that the residual vapours (except He, Ne and H2) around the substrate are reduced to 10-6-10-8 Pa. The improvement in the vacuum is made without serious loss of electron optical performance or of operational amenities of the microscope. The substrate crystal and/or the material to be deposited can be changed within minutes. Details are given of in situ deposition; the nature of substrate crystals prepared in situ is discussed.
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