Abstract
Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) has been widely used as a chemical analysis technique to characterize materials chemical properties, such as element valence states, atoms/ions bonding environment. This study provides a new method to characterize physical properties (i.e., film uniformity, grain orientations) of non-oxide thin films in the magnetic device by using EELS microanalysis on scanning transmission electron microscope. This method is based on analyzing white line ratio of spectra and related extended energy loss fine structures so as to correlate it with thin film uniformity. This new approach can provide an effective and sensitive method to monitor/characterize thin film quality (i.e., uniformity) at atomic level for thin film development, which is especially useful for examining ultra-thin films (i.e., several nanometers) or embedded films in devices for industry applications. More importantly, this technique enables development of quantitative characterization of thin film uniformity and it would be a remarkably useful technique for examining various types of devices for industrial applications.
Highlights
As the device dimension continues to shrink down to nanometer/angstrom level in nanofabrication industry, high quality thin films become more demanding
It needs to point out that, according to other characterization techniques, there is almost no chemical differences between these two films, neither the composition difference. This approach mainly proves the IrMn film uniformity differences, which are extrapolated from microanalysis of energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) spectra, combined with white line ratios as well as extended energy loss fine structure (EXELFS)
It needs to emphasize that, we have proved this EELS method conducted in this study is comparable and repeatable
Summary
As the device dimension continues to shrink down to nanometer/angstrom level in nanofabrication industry, high quality thin films become more demanding. It is advantageous and desirable to utilize electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) for location specific microanalysis in the subnanometer spatial resolution and high precision at atomic level.. This study discusses the feasibility and new application of EELS microanalysis for characterizing physical properties (i.e., crystalline uniformity) of non-oxide thin films in magnetic device structures through using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). It shed light on the wide applications in the film uniformity characterization on other non-oxide thin films at device level for industrial applications
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