EPES sampling depth paradox for overlayer/substrate system

An unexpected interface effect for the sampling depth of elastic peak electron spectroscopy (EPES) in applications to the overlayer/substrate system has been found. The sampling depths expressed as an information depth (ID) for Au/Ni and Rh/Al systems and selected energies in the range 200–10,000 eV were obtained from Monte Carlo (MC) simulations for typical for EPES cylindrical mirror analyser (CMA) configuration. It turned out that deep minimum in the ID dependence on the interface depth can exist. For example, for Rh/Al system at the energy of 2000 eV the ID can be smaller by a factor of two than the ID for the system elements. This effect can be explained in terms of the differential cross sections.     

Interface effect for EPES sampling depth for overlayer/substrate systems

We found that the interface effects for the sampling depth of elastic peak electron spectroscopy (EPES) for the overlayer/substrate system, first noticed by Zommer and Jablonski for the Rh/Al and Au/Ni systems, differ profoundly in their magnitude and dependence on the overlayer thickness when the overlayer and substrate materials are swapped. Monte Carlo calculations performed for the Al/Rh and Ni/Au systems show that their sampling depths, in contrary to the Rh/Al and Au/Ni, can be substantially greater than those of the elements constituting the respective system. The magnitude of the interface effect increases with the energy of the primary electron beam. It is interesting to mention that the sampling depth can be equivocal for a system with overlayer.     

Splitting the plasmon peak in high-energy reflection electron energy loss experiments

Elastic scattering of energetic electrons over large angles (in this study 40 keV and 120°$120°$) implies momentum and hence energy transfer from an electron to a nucleus. Due to the large mass of the nucleus (relative to the mass of an electron) this energy transfer is small, but it has recently been shown that it can be resolved in a modern spectrometer. Hence the elastic peak of an overlayer/substrate system splits into different components corresponding to atoms with different mass. Here we extend this type of experiment to the plasmon part of a reflection energy loss spectroscopy (REELS) spectrum. It is shown that, for suitable systems, the plasmon peak of an overlayer/substrate system is split by the same amount as the elastic peak. This is a consequence of the fact that detection of an electron in REELS always requires a large-angle elastic scattering event. Moreover, we show that the relative intensity of the plasmon components contains information on the depth distribution of the scatterers.     

Metal interface formation studied by high-energy reflection energy loss spectroscopy and electron Rutherford backscattering

We demonstrate that high-energy, high-resolution reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy can provide unique insights into interface formation, especially for the case where an extended interface is formed. By changing the geometry and/or electron energy the electronic structure can be probed over a range of thicknesses (from 10s of Å to more than 1000 Å). At the same time one resolves the elastically scattered electrons into different components, corresponding to scattering of atoms with different mass (so-called ‘electron Rutherford backscattering’). Thus these high-energy REELS/elastic scattering experiments obtain information on both the electronic structure and the atomic composition of the overlayer formed.     

Regularization methods for the extraction of depth profiles from simulated ARXPS data derived from overlayer/substrate models

Starting from posited input depth profiles of silicon oxide on silicon, 100 sets of noisy simulated ARXPS data were created for each oxide layer thickness of 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24 and 27 Å. Oxygen depth profiles were then recovered from the noisy simulated data using regularized inversion methods, including maximum entropy and Tikhonov regularization. Three regularization parameters were used: one determined by the S-curve method, one determined by the L-curve method and a third corresponding to the closest correspondence between the input and extracted profiles. The various regularization schemes evaluated were ranked with respect to their ability to reproduce the input profile.     

Effect of substrate annealing on the quality of pulsed laser deposited Zn1−xMgxO thin films

The annealing effects of sapphire substrate before deposition on the quality of epitaxial Zn_1−xMg_xO thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition are reported. Our Experimental results indicate that the surface quality of Zn_1−xMg_xO thin films and hexagonal columnar growth is improved on the annealed sapphire substrate at high temperatures due to formation of atomic terraces on the substrate surface. The photoluminescence signals also increases with the increasing annealing temperature of the substrate.     

Close space vapor transport method for Bi2Te3 thin films deposition: Influence of the type of substrate

Bismuth telluride thin films have been grown by close space vapor transport (CSVT) technique as a function of substrate temperature (T_sub). Both N- and P-type samples can be obtained by this method which is a relatively simple procedure, which makes the method interesting for technological applications. The samples were deposited onto amorphous glass and polycrystalline CdTe film substrates in the substrate temperature range 300-425 °C, with a fixed gradient between source and substrate of 300 °C. The influence of the type of substrate and substrate temperature in the CSVT chamber on the physical properties of the films is presented and discussed.     

Determination of the inelastic mean free paths (IMFPs) in Ti by elastic peak electron spectroscopy (EPES): Effect of impurities and surface excitations

Surface excitations are important in surface sensitive electron spectroscopes, especially in elastic peak electron spectroscopy (EPES) since they may distort quantitative information. This phenomenon is more pronounced at low electron energy and glancing emission angles and should be appropriately corrected.In the present work we investigate quantitatively the role of contaminations, density and surface excitations on electron inelastic mean free paths (IMFPs) in Ti determined by elastic peak electron spectroscopy (EPES) using Cu standard. In the Monte Carlo algorithm the new NIST 3.1 database of electron elastic scattering cross sections was applied. It has been also shown that accounting for surface excitations, as well as for appropriate input parameters (surface composition, density, hydrogen) in the EPES method, is important for accuracy of evaluated IMFPs. Due to high reactivity of Ti, the IMFPs for contaminated Ti may be of interest. The authors indicate the magnitude of various corrections on the IMFPs derived by EPES.     

Interfaces analysis of the HfO2/SiO2/Si structure

The physical and chemical properties of the HfO₂/SiO₂/Si stack have been analyzed using cross-section HR TEM, XPS, IR-spectroscopy and ellipsometry. HfO₂ films were deposited by the MO CVD method using as precursors the tetrakis 2,2,6,6 tetramethyl-3,5 heptanedionate hafnium—Hf(dpm)₄ and dicyclopentadienil-hafnium-bis-diethylamide—Сp₂Hf(N(C₂H₅)₂)₂.The amorphous interface layer (IL) between HfO₂ and silicon native oxide has been observed by the HRTEM method. The interface layer comprises hafnium silicate with a smooth varying of chemical composition through the IL thickness. The interface layer formation occurs both during HfO₂ synthesis, and at the annealing of the HfO₂/SiO₂/Si stack. It was concluded from the XPS, and the IR-spectroscopy that the hafnium silicate formation occurs via a solid-state reaction at the HfO₂/SiO₂ interface, and its chemical structure depends on the thickness of the SiO₂ underlayer.     

Influence of substrate bias voltage on the properties of magnetron sputtered Cu2O films

Thin films of cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) were deposited on glass substrates at various bias voltages using DC reactive magnetron sputtering technique. The effects of substrate bias voltage on structural, electrical and optical properties were systematically analyzed. The crystallographic structure and orientation of the crystallites were strongly influenced by the bias voltage.     

Compositional dependence of the optical properties of amorphous semiconducting glass Ge10AsxSe(90−x) thin films

Optical properties of ternary chalcognide amorphous Ge₁₀As_xSe_(90−x) (with 10?x?25 at%) thin films prepared by thermal evaporation have been measured in visible and near-infrared spectral region. The straightforward analysis proposed by Swanepoel has been successfully employed, and it has allowed us to determine the average thickness , and the refractive index, n, of the films, with high accuracy. The refractive index, n and the average thickness has been determined from the upper and lower envelopes of the transmission spectra measured at normal incidence, in the spectral range 400-2500 nm. The absorption coefficient α, and therefore extinction coefficient k, have been determined from the transmission spectra in the strong-absorption region. The dispersion of the refractive index is discussed in terms of the single oscillator Wemple-DiDomenico model, and the optical absorption edge is described using the ‘nondirect transition’ model proposed by Tauc. Likewise, the optical energy gap is derived from Tauc's extrapolation. The relationship between the optical gap and chemical composition in Ge₁₀As_xSe_(90−x) amorphous system is discussed in terms of the average heat of atomization H_s and average coordination number N_c. Finally, the chemical bond approach has been also applied successfully to interpret the decrease of the glass optical gap with increasing As content.     

Optical parameters of epitaxial GaN thin film on Si substrate from the reflection spectrum

A method has been proposed for determining the optical properties of a thin film layer on absorbing substrates. The film optical parameters such as thickness, refractive index, absorption coefficient, extinction coefficient and the optical energy gap of an absorbing film are retrieved from the interference fringes of the reflection spectrum at normal incidence. The envelopes of the maxima of the spectrum E_M and of the minima E_m are introduced in analytical forms to find the reflectance amplitudes at the interfaces and approximate values of the thin film refractive index. Then, the interference orders and film thickness are calculated to get accurate values of the needed optical parameters. There are no complex fitting procedures or assumed theoretical refractive index dispersion relations. The method is applied to calculate the optical properties of an epitaxial gallium nitride thin film on a silicon (1 1 1) substrate. Good agreement between our results and the published data are obtained.     

High-resolution study of quasi-elastic electron scattering from a two-layer system

In large-angle elastic scattering events of keV electrons a significant amount of momentum is transferred from the electron to a nucleus in the target. As a consequence kinetic energy is transferred from the energetic electron to the nucleus, and hence these processes can be referred to as ‘quasi-elastic’. How much energy is transferred depends on the mass of the nucleus. In this paper, we present measurements from a two-layer system (a germanium layer and a carbon layer), and at high energies the quasi-elastic peaks of Ge and C are clearly resolved. It is demonstrated that the sample geometry has a huge effect on the observed relative intensities. It is shown that the intensities are influenced by the elastic scattering cross-section of the atoms in the film, film composition and selective attenuation, due to varying amount of inelastic scattering for layers of the film. However truly quantitative agreement is not obtained.     

Electron IMFPs in bulk Cd0.88Mn0.12Te crystals determined by EPES

The inelastic mean free path (IMFP) of electrons is a basic parameter for surface-sensitive electron spectroscopies (AES, XPS, EELS) in quantitative analyses.Cd_1−xMn_xTe mixed crystals are currently of great interest due to their magnetic and magneto-optical properties. Since information on electron transport processes in these semimagnetic compounds is scarce, their systematic studies are highly desirable.In the present work, the IMFPs in Cd_0.88Mn_0.12Te (1 1 0) crystal samples were obtained from EPES with use of the Ni standard in the electron energy range 500-2000 eV. In addition, we also explored the effect of bulk Mn content in the determination of the IMFP. Relative EPES measurements were carried out using the MICROLAB 350 spectrometer. The sample surface was sputter cleaned and amorphized by Ar⁺ ions. Surface composition of the samples was monitored in situ by XPS and AES. The measured IMFPs were uncorrected for surface excitations and compared with those predicted from the TPP-2M and G-1 formulae. Also, the values of the IMFPs determined here were compared with those evaluated from the expression of Sekine et al. However, accuracy of this expression is rather poor except the case of pure CdTe (x = 0). In general, good agreement was found between the measured IMFPs in Cd_0.88Mn_0.12Te and the corresponding predicted IMFPs. The root-mean-square deviation from IMFP values predicted from the TPP-2M formula was 1.2 Å. The mean percentage deviation from the TPP-2M IMFPs was 9.3%.     

Photoluminescence of polycrystalline CuIn0.5Ga0.5Te2 thin films grown by flash evaporation

Polycrystalline CuIn_0.5Ga_0.5Te₂ films were deposited by flash evaporation from ingot prepared by reacting, in stoichiometric proportions, high purity Cu, In, Ga and Te elements in vacuum sealed quartz. The as-obtained films were characterized by X – ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). XRD and TEM results showed that the layer has a chalcopyrite-type structure, predominantly oriented along (112) planes, with lattice parameters a?=?0.61?nm and c?=?1.22?nm. The optical properties in the near - infrared and visible range 600–2400?nm have been studied. The analysis of absorption coefficient yielded an energy gap value of 1.27?eV. Photoluminescence analysis of as-grown sample shows two main emission peaks located at 0.87 and 1.19?eV at 4?K.     

Growth of the Bi2O3 thin films under atmospheric pressure by means of halide CVD

Films of Bi₂O₃ were grown on glass substrate under atmospheric pressure by means of halide chemical vapour deposition (AP-HCVD) using BiI₃ and O₂ as the starting materials. In the XRD diffractogram of the film a strong diffraction peak appears at 27.91° assigned to the (111) diffraction of the δ-Bi₂O₃ with cubic structure. X-ray pole figure suggested that the 〈111〉 direction of the film is perpendicular to the substrate surface, while the 〈110〉 axis directs towards all directions parallel to the substrate surface. It is for the first that δ-Bi₂O₃ film was prepared on glass substrate.     

Light scattering effect of submicro-textured Ag/Al composite films prepared at lower substrate temperatures

We present a new and practical approach for preparing submicro-textured silver and aluminum (Ag/Al) double-structured layers at low substrate temperatures. The surface texturing of silver and aluminum double-structured layers was performed by increasing the deposition temperature of the Al layers to 270℃. The highly submicro-textured silver and aluminum double-structured layers were prepared by thermal evaporation on quartz glasses and their surface microstructure, light scattering properties, and thermal stability were investigated. Results showed that the highly submicro-textured Ag/Al composite films prepared at low substrate temperatures used as back reflectors not only can enhance the light scattering and have good thermal stability, but also have good adhesion properties. In addition, their fabrication is low cost and readily carried out.     

Correlation between structural and mechanical properties of PbTiO3 thin films grown by pulsed-laser deposition

Tetragonal lead titanate (PbTiO₃, PT) thin films are grown on (1 0 0) MgO substrate by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) for expected applications in integrated optics. The realisation of outstanding and reliable devices into integrated circuits requires sufficient mechanical resistance despite that the obtained PT films display interesting waveguiding properties associated with low optical losses. Two mechanical properties characteristic of elasticity and hardness of PT films are studied. The elastic modulus (E or Young's modulus) and the hardness (H) are measured by the nanoindentation technique. These mechanical properties are correlated to the crystalline quality of PT/MgO thin films. The films show epitaxial relationship with the MgO substrate and the orientation of crystallites perpendicularly to the surface substrate may be the consequence of a growth process along c-axis, a-axis or both. Differences on curves plotting hardness and elastic modulus as a function of indentation depth are observed as the curves are less dispersed for the films mainly c-axis oriented.     

Phonon emission spectra of thin metallic films

Thin metallic films evaporated on an Al₂O₃-single crystal and cooled to liquid helium temperatures are heated by short electric current pulses. The high frequency part of the emitted phonons is detected by calibrated superconductive tunneling junctions on the opposite surface of the substrate. The observed phonon detector signal amplitude is compared with theoretical models taking account of the boundary conditions for elastic waves in the film. It is found that the phonon spectrum emitted perpendicularly to the substrate-film boundary depends strongly on the thickness of the heater film.     

The role of absorption in large-angle elastic scattering

The measurements of energy loss distributions obtained in electron scattering experiments at high momentum transfer are presented for Xe, Ar and methane. The spectra show a large variety of intensity distributions, clearly different from those obtained in measurements at the dipole limit. The fraction of the intensity present in the energy loss distribution compared to the elastic peak is significant, but is in line with the reduction of the elastic cross section due to absorption. It is argued that, if similar effects are present in the condensed phase, they should be dealt with in any quantitative analysis of electron transport in matter, as is often done using Monte Carlo simulations. This argument is worked out in some detail for Reflection Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy.