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Improved TEM samples of semiconductors prepared by a small‐angle cleavage technique
Author(s) -
McCaffrey John P.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
microscopy research and technique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1097-0029
pISSN - 1059-910X
DOI - 10.1002/jemt.1070240210
Subject(s) - cleavage (geology) , materials science , transmission electron microscopy , semiconductor , optics , groove (engineering) , scanning electron microscope , analytical chemistry (journal) , plane (geometry) , crystallography , chemistry , geometry , optoelectronics , composite material , nanotechnology , chromatography , physics , metallurgy , mathematics , fracture (geology)
A small‐angle cleavage technique has been developed that produces superior transmission electron microscope (TEM) samples of semiconductors and related materials. The technique involves back‐thinning the sample to approximately 100 μm, then scribing a groove on this back face at a specified small angle to a standard cleavage plane. The sample is cleaved along this scribe line followed by cleaving along the standard cleavage plane to produce a thin wedged sample. Samples prepared by this method are characterized and compared with conventional and low‐angle ion milled samples. The technique is illustrated, and the characteristic geometry of the cleaved sample is explained in terms of a simplified cleavage model. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.