Three-Dimensional Automated Crystal Orientation and Phase Mapping Analysis of Epitaxially Grown Thin Film Interfaces by Using Transmission Electron Microscopy

Abstract

As devices are miniaturized with thinner films, the electrical and magnetic properties of surfaces and interfaces in multi-layered semiconductors can affect the overall device performance (Lebedev, 2006). Therefore, it is vital to accurately analyze their interfacial properties. The absorber film adhesion and electrical properties rarely improve when they form alloys with adjacent layers (Wurz et al., 2003); however, well defined epitaxial thin films are typically uniform with steady magnetic properties (Kousuke et al., 2011). High-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) is essential for nanoscale structural characterization and chemical composition. However, HREM provides restrictive nanoscale localized information. Recently, it has been reported that a technique of automated crystal orientation and phase mapping, based on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) (similar to scanning electron microscope-electron backscatter diffraction [SEM-EBSD], TEM-EBSD), can analyze nanostructured materials for extensive structural information (Rauch et al., 2010; Moeck et al., 2011; Yoo et al., 2012). In this study, we applied a three-dimensional (3D) TEM-EBSD method to obtain more reliable structural information as a complement to energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and HREM analysis combined with a tilting technique.