Electron diffraction studies of amorphous and polycrystalline thin films

Author(s):  
D J H Cockayne ◽  
D R McKenzie

The study of amorphous and polycrystalline materials by obtaining radial density functions G(r) from X-ray or neutron diffraction patterns is a well-developed technique. We have developed a method for carrying out the same technique using electron diffraction in a standard TEM. It has the advantage that studies can be made of thin films, and on regions of specimen too small for X-ray and neutron studies. As well, it can be used to obtain nearest neighbour distances and coordination numbers from the same region of specimen from which HREM, EDS and EELS data is obtained.The reduction of the scattered intensity I(s) (s = 2sinθ/λ ) to the radial density function, G(r), assumes single and elastic scattering. For good resolution in r, data must be collected to high s. Previous work in this field includes pioneering experiments by Grigson and by Graczyk and Moss. In our work, the electron diffraction pattern from an amorphous or polycrystalline thin film is scanned across the entrance aperture to a PEELS fitted to a conventional TEM, using a ramp applied to the post specimen scan coils. The elastically scattered intensity I(s) is obtained by selecting the elastically scattered electrons with the PEELS, and collecting directly into the MCA. Figure 1 shows examples of I(s) collected from two thin ZrN films, one polycrystalline and one amorphous, prepared by evaporation while under nitrogen ion bombardment.

Author(s):  
Karimat El-Sayed

Lead telluride is an important semiconductor of many applications. Many Investigators showed that there are anamolous descripancies in most of the electrophysical properties of PbTe polycrystalline thin films on annealing. X-Ray and electron diffraction studies are being undertaken in the present work in order to explain the cause of this anamolous behaviour.Figures 1-3 show the electron diffraction of the unheated, heated in air at 100°C and heated in air at 250°C respectively of a 300°A polycrystalline PbTe thin film. It can be seen that Fig. 1 is a typical [100] projection of a face centered cubic with unmixed (hkl) indices. Fig. 2 shows the appearance of faint superlattice reflections having mixed (hkl) indices. Fig. 3 shows the disappearance of thf superlattice reflections and the appearance of polycrystalline PbO phase superimposed on the [l00] PbTe diffraction patterns. The mechanism of this three stage process can be explained on structural basis as follows :


Author(s):  
G. I. Wong ◽  
H. P. Singh ◽  
L. E. Murr

Simple multiple diffraction effects dealing with scattered or re-entrant beams in single foils containing twins or crystalline phases giving rise to double diffraction are generally well known. In addition, multiple diffraction arising in two overlapping thin films such as a multiple vapor deposit or an oxide on a crystalline substrate or base film has been studied. There are very few, if any, studies which attempt to systematically describe the diffraction patterns arising from overlapped, rotated, and imperfect single and polycrystalline thin films. This study demonstrates the complicated electron diffraction patterns which can arise by multiple diffraction in laye redarrays of thin Pd films, and describes the origins of some of the observed reflections.


1994 ◽  
Vol 343 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. Stepanov ◽  
R. I. Khaibullin ◽  
S. N. Abdullin ◽  
Yu. N. Osin ◽  
I. B. Khaibullin

ABSTRACTThe structure and phase composition of thin films formed by 40 KeV cobalt ion implantation into organic substrate (polyester) were studied by transmission electron microscopy in conjunction with electron diffraction. Varying current density and dose implantation over the range 0.3×1016 – 2.4×1017 cm-2 we obtained island-like cobalt films of different type as well as labyrinth-like structure at the highest dose value. The granulometric and morphologic parameters were derived from the micrographs of the investigated films. Both amorphous state and α-Co crystalline lattice of cobalt granules were established from electron diffraction patterns of synthesized films. Along with discontinuous films, we formed monocrystalline plates of α-phase cobalt under the determined implantation regimes and conditions. Cross-section images of synthesized films showed that films are of about 300 Å thick and buried at the depth of 150 Å from the principal surface of the polyester.


1992 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 542-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter C. Van Buskirk ◽  
Robin Gardiner ◽  
Peter S. Kirlin ◽  
Steven Nutt

Epitaxial BaTi3 films have been grown on NdGaO3 [100] substrates by reduced pressure MOCVD for the first time. The substrate temperature was 1000 °C and the total pressure was 4 Torr. Electron and x-ray diffraction measurements indicate highly textured, single phase films on the NdGaO3 substrate which are predominantly [100], with [110] also present. TEM and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) indicate two specific orientational relationships between the [110] and the [001] diffraction patterns.


Author(s):  
David Cockayne ◽  
David McKenzie

The technique of Electron Reduced Density Function (RDF) analysis has ben developed into a rapid analytical tool for the analysis of small volumes of amorphous or polycrystalline materials. The energy filtered electron diffraction pattern is collected to high scattering angles (currendy to s = 2 sinθ/λ = 6.5 Å-1) by scanning the selected area electron diffraction pattern across the entrance aperture to a GATAN parallel energy loss spectrometer. The diffraction pattern is then converted to a reduced density function, G(r), using mathematical procedures equivalent to those used in X-ray and neutron diffraction studies.Nearest neighbour distances accurate to 0.01 Å are obtained routinely, and bond distortions of molecules can be determined from the ratio of first to second nearest neighbour distances. The accuracy of coordination number determinations from polycrystalline monatomic materials (eg Pt) is high (5%). In amorphous systems (eg carbon, silicon) it is reasonable (10%), but in multi-element systems there are a number of problems to be overcome; to reduce the diffraction pattern to G(r), the approximation must be made that for all elements i,j in the system, fj(s) = Kji fi,(s) where Kji is independent of s.


Author(s):  
B. B. Chang ◽  
D. F. Parsons

The significance of dynamical scattering effects remains the major question in the structural analysis by electron diffraction of protein crystals preserved in the hydrated state. In the few cases (single layers of purple membrane and 400-600 Å thick catalase crystals examined at 100 kV acceleration voltage) where electron-diffraction patterns were used quantitatively, dynamical scattering effects were considered unimportant on the basis of a comparison with x-ray intensities. The kinematical treatment is usually justified by the thinness of the crystal. A theoretical investigation by Ho et al. using Cowley-Moodie multislice formulation of dynamical scattering theory and cytochrome b5as the test object2 suggests that kinematical analysis of electron diffraction data with 100-keV electrons would not likely be valid for specimen thickness of 300 Å or more. We have chosen to work with electron diffraction patterns obtained from actual wet protein crystals (rat hemoglobin crystals of thickness range 1000 to 2500 Å) at 200 and 1000 kV and to analyze these for dynamical effects.


1987 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Vinš ◽  
Jan Šubrt ◽  
Vladimír Zapletal ◽  
František Hanousek

A method has been worked out for the reproducible preparation of Green Rust substances involving SO42-, Cl-, Br-, and I- anions. The chemical composition of the substances prepared has been followed in dependence on the synthesis conditions. The powder X-ray and electron diffraction patterns and infrared and Moessbauer spectra have been measured and discussed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 983-990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Elschner ◽  
Alexandr A. Levin ◽  
Lutz Wilde ◽  
Jörg Grenzer ◽  
Christian Schroer ◽  
...  

The electrical and optical properties of molecular thin films are widely used, for instance in organic electronics, and depend strongly on the molecular arrangement of the organic layers. It is shown here how atomic structural information can be obtained from molecular films without further knowledge of the single-crystal structure. C60 fullerene was chosen as a representative test material. A 250 nm C60 film was investigated by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction and the data compared with a Bragg–Brentano X-ray diffraction measurement of the corresponding C60 powder. The diffraction patterns of both powder and film were used to calculate the pair distribution function (PDF), which allowed an investigation of the short-range order of the structures. With the help of the PDF, a structure model for the C60 molecular arrangement was determined for both C60 powder and thin film. The results agree very well with a classical whole-pattern fitting approach for the C60 diffraction patterns.


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