Procedures for the Preparation of Samples for Cross-Sectional Transmission Electron Microscopy

Abstract

Cross sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) is an important technique for studying the morphology and local chemistry of the interfaces of thin film materials. The preparation of samples for XTEM analysis can be summarized as follows: Samples are cleaved or sawed into 2 mm x 7 mm strips. A sandwich consisting of four strips is glued together. 50-mil thick slices are cut from the sandwich. The slices are ground and polished to a thickness of 100 micrometers. The thin slice is glued to a TEM grid and is dimpled until a perforation is achieved. The dimpled specimen i thinned to electron transparency with an ion-milling machine. A detailed account of the procedures used to prepare XTEM samples of Si-Ge superlattices is given. Selected micrographs of these samples show how the XTEM technique can be used to study interfaces. Keywords: Transmission electron microscopy, Interfaces.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 06, 1990
Accession Number
ADA227013

Entities

People

  • P. M. Adams
  • S. Y. Teng

Organizations

  • The Aerospace Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Chemical Kinetics
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Chemistry
  • Electron Microscopy
  • Electrons
  • Materials
  • Materials Science
  • Microscopes
  • Microscopy
  • Milling Machines
  • Optical Properties
  • Optics
  • Physics Laboratories
  • Semiconductor Devices
  • Space Systems
  • Transmission Electron Microscopy
  • X Rays

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Graphene