Procedures for the Preparation of Samples for Cross-Sectional Transmission Electron Microscopy

Abstract : Cross sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) is an important technique for studying the morphology and local chemistry of the interfaces of thin film materials. The preparation of samples for XTEM analysis can be summarized as follows: Samples are cleaved or sawed into 2 mm x 7 mm strips. A sandwich consisting of four strips is glued together. 50-mil thick slices are cut from the sandwich. The slices are ground and polished to a thickness of 100 micrometers. The thin slice is glued to a TEM grid and is dimpled until a perforation is achieved. The dimpled specimen i thinned to electron transparency with an ion-milling machine. A detailed account of the procedures used to prepare XTEM samples of Si-Ge superlattices is given. Selected micrographs of these samples show how the XTEM technique can be used to study interfaces. Keywords: Transmission electron microscopy, Interfaces.