Composition and Strain Analysis of Semiconductor Heterostructures Using Thickness Fringes on Tem Images

Abstract

ABSTRACTComposition and strain depth profiles in heterostructures such as AlGaAs/GaAs, InGaAs/InP and SiGe/Si have been analyzed with a high resolution of 0.5 nm by using the thickness fringes in a transmission electron microscope image. This diagnostic method is found to successfully evaluate the compositional disordering caused by annealing multiple quantum well structures with abrupt interfaces, and determine the difference in strain distribution in the strained-layers with various lattice mismatches. Both the composition and strain depth-profiles are analyzed quantitatively by the image simulation based on the dynamical theory of electron diffraction. This method is also useful for sensitively detecting ion-implantation-induced defects.