The properties of nanoscaled materials can be changed by applying strain and as such there is an interest in the accurate measurement of deformation with nm-scale resolution. This was until recently considered as a difficult problem. However, the last ten years has seen a great deal of development in techniques that can be used to measure deformation with the required resolution [1,2]. Today there are many different approaches which can be used to recover valuable information about the deformation. Each of these techniques has strengths and weaknesses and requires different set ups in the electron microscope [2]. In this presentation we will present dark field electron holography, nanobeam electron diffraction (NBED), precession diffraction (NPED) and the geometrical phase analysis (GPA) of TEM and high angle annular dark field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images. We will then discuss which technique is most suitable for different types of materials problems and benchmark their performance with respect to the accuracy of the measurements, precision and spatial resolution.

Figure 1(a) shows a HAADF STEM image of a 100-nm-thick Si test specimen containing 10-nm-thick SiGe layers with different Ge concentrations. As the specimen has been grown epitaxially we expect no deformation to be measured in the ex direction. However, due to the expanded lattice parameter of the SiGe layers relative to the Si reference, tensile deformation is expected in the ez direction. Figure 1 shows deformation maps that have been acquired by (b) GPA of HAADF images (c) dark holography and (d) precession diffraction. These are compared to finite element simulations that are shown in Figure 1(e). These results reveal that all of the different techniques provide accurate measurements of the deformation. Figure 2(a) shows a HAADF STEM image of a SiGe test device structure with a gate length of 35 nm. Finite element simulations showing the expected deformation in the struture is shown in Figures 2(b) and (c). Deformation maps are shown in Figure 2(d) and (e) for precession diffraction, (f) and (g) for dark holography and (h) and (i) for GPA of HAADF STEM images [4]. Again, accurate measurements of the deformation are made, but the precision and spatial resolution depends on the experimental technique that has been used. As well as presenting state of the art results from a range of strained materials we will highlight improvements that are required for all of the different techniques in order to optimise their performance and provide the best possible measurements of deformation.

Acknowledgements : These experiments have been performed on the platform nanocharacterisation (PFNC) at Minatec. The work has been funded by the ERC Starting Grant 306365 « Holoview ».

References
[1] M. Hytch et al. Ultramicroscopy 74, 131–146 (1998)
[2] M. Hytch et al. Nature 453, 1086-1089 (2008)
[3] D. Cooper et al. Micron 80, 145-165 (2016)
[4] D. Cooper et al. Nano letters 15, 5289-5294 (2015)

Figures:

Figure 1. (a) HAADF STEM image of a Si calibration specimen with 10-nm-thick SiGe layers with different Ge concentrations. (b) Ez maps acquired using (b) GPA, (c) dark holography, (d) precession diffraction and (e) finite element simulations.

FIG. 2. (a) HAADF STEM image of SiGe device. (b) and (c) Finite element simulations of Ex and Ez respectively. (d) and (e) Ex and Ez maps acquired by precession diffraction. (f) and (g) Ex and Ez maps acquired by dark holography. (h) and (i) Ex and Ez maps acquired by GPA of the HAADF STEM image shown in (a).

« Back to The 16th European Microscopy Congress 2016

EMC Abstracts - https://emc-proceedings.com/abstract/deformation-mapping-in-a-tem-dark-field-electron-holography-nanobeam-electron-diffraction-precession-electron-diffraction-and-gpa-compared/