Computer Analysis of Electron Diffraction From thin Films

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (S2) ◽  
pp. 344-345
Author(s):  
Warren MoberlyChan ◽  
R. Kilaas ◽  
L-H. Chan ◽  
T. Nolan ◽  
P. Dorsey ◽  
...  

As engineering properties are miniaturized by mo thinner films, crystallographic analyses become more appropriate by electron diffraction than XRD. Without synchrotron sources, XRD scans of such films often expose one peak at best. However, these thinner films become more suited for TEM, with less artifacts from sample preparation. XRD scans with peaks in the noise are quantitatively accepted, while vast differences in electron diffraction patterns remain unquantified. Digital recording of TEM information removes the uncertain hand waving of the darkroom; and fast, user-friendly computer processing especially removes the nonstatistical art in image analysis. This work inputs 16-bit (>65,000 gray levels) images of ring diffraction patterns into Digital Micrograph and utilizes a Rotation Average subroutine (1) to plot peak intensities.Information storage in a hard drive utilizes sputtered thin films of HCP-Co-alloys with magnetic bits tied to the crystallographic orientation of each grain. Longitudinal-recording density and signal-to-noise can be enhanced for thin films with c-axes of all grains in plane.

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.


1999 ◽  
Vol 562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Tang ◽  
Shanlin Duan ◽  
David E. Laughlin

ABSTRACTA method of investigating thin film crystallographic texture by electron diffraction is reviewed. The reciprocal lattices of fibrous and lamellar textured thin films are spherical belts around the texture axis. Equations describing the projection of the spherical belts onto the Ewald sphere along the texture axis direction are presented. Based on these equations the geometric and intensity evolution of the electron diffraction patterns with the tilt angle about an arbitrary axis in the film plane can be analyzed in a systematic way. The geometric characteristics of the electron diffraction patterns are then used to derive the texture axis directional index and its angular distribution. The way to determine the equal-intensity circular arcs on the diffraction pattern is also discussed. This method can be applied to both single layered and multilayered thin films of various applications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 2205
Author(s):  
Л.Е. Быкова ◽  
С.М. Жарков ◽  
В.Г. Мягков ◽  
Ю.Ю. Балашов ◽  
Г.С. Патрин

The study of the formation of the Cu6Sn5 intermetallic compound in Sn(55nm)/Cu(30nm) thin bilayer films was carried out directly in the column of a transmission electron microscope (electron diffraction mode) by heating the film sample from room temperature to 300 °C and recording the electron diffraction patterns. The thin films formed as a result of a solid state reaction were monophase and consisted of the η-Cu6Sn5 hexagonal phase. The temperature range for the formation of the η-Cu6Sn5 phase was determined. The estimate of the effective interdiffusion coefficient of the reaction suggests that the main mechanism for the formation of the Cu6Sn5 intermetallic is diffusion along the grain boundaries and dislocations.


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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 2226-2234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farah Haddad ◽  
Prabal Goyal ◽  
Erik V. Johnson ◽  
Junegie Hong ◽  
Pere Roca i Cabarrocas ◽  
...  

Unusual quasi-fivefold symmetric electron diffraction patterns are observed for silicon thin films grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition and containing oxygen and carbon impurities in the range of 0.3–5.5%. These films were grown on crystalline (100) silicon wafers using a liquid precursor, hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO), mixed with silane, hydrogen and diborane diluted in argon. The occurrence of this quasi-fivefold symmetry is explained by multiple twinning and imperfect epitaxy. A quantitative method performed on the diffraction patterns is developed to evaluate the number of twin operations. This method is also used to discriminate twin positions from random microcrystalline ones in the diffraction patterns and thus to estimate their respective ratios for different growth conditions. Quite remarkably, the random microcrystalline part remains in the range of a few per cent and the diffracted intensities are the sum of two main contributions: multiple (micro-) twinned and amorphous. Increasing the amount of HMDSO decreases the microtwinned part directly to the benefit of the amorphous part with no significant microcrystalline phase. The causes of twinning are presented and discussed by comparing the observations with the literature; dynamical considerations where the system tends to align {111} planes with the growth direction would explain multiple twinning and, in turn, the fivefold symmetry.


2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 693-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Galceran ◽  
A. Albou ◽  
K. Renard ◽  
M. Coulombier ◽  
P.J. Jacques ◽  
...  

AbstractA new automated crystallographic orientation mapping tool in a transmission electron microscope technique, which is based on pattern matching between every acquired electron diffraction pattern and precalculated templates, has been used for the microstructural characterization of nondeformed and deformed aluminum thin films and twinning-induced plasticity steels. The increased spatial resolution and the use of electron diffraction patterns rather than Kikuchi lines make this tool very appropriate to characterize fine grained and deformed microstructures.


2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 1132-1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linhua Jiang ◽  
Dilyana Georgieva ◽  
Jan Pieter Abrahams

EDIFFis a new user-friendly software suite for unit-cell determination of three-dimensional nanocrystals from randomly oriented electron diffraction patterns with unknown independent orientations. It can also be used for three-dimensional cell reconstruction from diffraction tilt series. In neither case is exact knowledge of the angular relationship between the patterns required. The unit cell can be validated and the crystal system assigned.EDIFFcan index the reflections in electron diffraction patterns. Thus,EDIFFcan be employed as a first step in reconstructing the three-dimensional atomic structure of organic and inorganic molecules and of proteins from diffraction data. An example illustrates the viability of theEDIFFapproach.


2009 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyril Cayron ◽  
Martien Den Hertog ◽  
Laurence Latu-Romain ◽  
Céline Mouchet ◽  
Christopher Secouard ◽  
...  

Odd electron diffraction patterns (EDPs) have been obtained by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on silicon nanowires grownviathe vapour–liquid–solid method and on silicon thin films deposited by electron beam evaporation. Many explanations have been given in the past, without consensus among the scientific community: size artifacts, twinning artifacts or, more widely accepted, the existence of new hexagonal Si phases. In order to resolve this issue, the microstructures of Si nanowires and Si thin films have been characterized by TEM, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. Despite the differences in the geometries and elaboration processes, the EDPs of the materials show great similarities. The different hypotheses reported in the literature have been investigated. It was found that the positions of the diffraction spots in the EDPs could be reproduced by simulating a hexagonal structure withc/a= 12(2/3)1/2, but the intensities in many EDPs remained unexplained. Finally, it was established that all the experimental data,i.e.EDPs and HRTEM images, agree with a classical cubic silicon structure containing two microstructural defects: (i) overlapping Σ3 microtwins which induce extra spots by double diffraction, and (ii) nanotwins which induce extra spots as a result of streaking effects. It is concluded that there is no hexagonal phase in the Si nanowires and the Si thin films presented in this work.


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.


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