Characterization of thin films, epitaxial layers, and superlattices using the precession camera

Abstract This article describes a simple method to provide qualitative structural information on thin films, epitaxial layers, and superlattices using the Buerger precession camera. This method is especially useful for epitaxially grown films because it gives a rapid and easy-to-interpret photograph of the reciprocal space of all the components at once: substrate, film or buffer layer, and/or superlattice. A wide variety of examples - Al on Si, Ge on Si, CdTe epitaxial layers on GaAs, CdTe/ZnTe superlattices on GaAs, and Mo/Ni superlattices on mica - are used to illustrate the present technique.