Field Ion Microscopy of Multilayer Film Devices

Abstract

Control and optimization of materials’ properties will increasingly depend on the ability to tailor both the structure and chemical composition of the materials at the nanoscale level (100 nm and less). One specific class of “nanostructured” materials is the multilayer film (MLF) structure, which is formed by alternate deposition of two or more different elements or compounds and has a wide range of applications in, for example, the field of data recording and storage. In order to understand MLF structures well enough to improve and optimize their properties, characterization at the atomic level with regard to both structure and chemistry is essential. Interface quality is one of the most important parameters due to the possibility of intermixing between layers. It is thus desirable to obtain information about the interface morphology in these materials at the highest possible resolution.