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Elastic Relaxation and TEM Image Contrasts in Thin Composition-Modulated Semiconductor Crystals

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Evaluation of Advanced Semiconductor Materials by Electron Microscopy

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((NSSB,volume 203))

Abstract

Strong image contrasts can arise in transmission electron micrographs from remarkably small strain gradients in thinned crystals. Shear strains with amplitudes as small as 10-4 can produce detectable contrasts under optimum imaging conditions [1], much more than would be predicted on the basis of the perturbed projected potential alone. Strong dynamical scattering effects, stimulated by the bending of diffracting lattice planes, are primarily responsible for these strong contrasts. Internal shear strains (ie lattice bending) can result from stresses associated with crystal defects, such as dislocations, point defects, coherent interfaces, planar defects, inclusions, compositional inhomogeneities, surfaces, surface steps and surface irregularities. Temperature gradients, due to uneven electron beam heating, can also generate internal stresses. Although it is possible to fabricate semiconductor materials which are essentially free of structural defects, most operational semiconductors contain dopants and interfaces. Atomic radii of dopant atoms are generally not identical to that of the host lattice, thus static disorder is introduced into the lattice. Molecular beam epitaxy permits the microfabrication of semiconductor materials which have coherent strain fields deliberately introduced, such as strained layer superlattices [2]. If structural details of such materials are to be interpreted accurately from electron micrographs, it is important that the imaging and structural artifacts caused by internal stresses be thoroughly understood.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Exxon Research & Engineering Company, Clinton Township, Route 22E, Annandale, New Jersey, 08801, USA

    Michael M. J. Treacy

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  1. Michael M. J. Treacy
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  1. University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    David Cherns

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© 1989 Plenum Press, New York

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Treacy, M.M.J. (1989). Elastic Relaxation and TEM Image Contrasts in Thin Composition-Modulated Semiconductor Crystals. In: Cherns, D. (eds) Evaluation of Advanced Semiconductor Materials by Electron Microscopy. NATO ASI Series, vol 203. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0527-9_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0527-9_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7850-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0527-9

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