Characterization of dilute species within CVD‐grown silicon nanowires doped using trimethylboron: protected lift‐out specimen preparation for atom probe tomography

Summary Three‐dimensional quantitative compositional analysis of nanowires is a challenge for standard techniques such as secondary ion mass spectrometry because of specimen size and geometry considerations; however, it is precisely the size and geometry of nanowires that makes them attractive candi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of microscopy (Oxford) 2010-08, Vol.239 (2), p.92-98
Main Authors: PROSA, T. J., ALVIS, R., TSAKALAKOS, L., SMENTKOWSKI, V. S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atom probe analysis
Atomic properties
chemical vapour deposition (CVD)
Microscopy
nanowire
Nanowires
pulsed‐laser local‐electrode atom probe tomography
Secondary ion mass spectrometry
secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS)
Silicon
Specimen preparation
Tomography
vapour–liquid–solid (VLS) growth
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Summary:Summary Three‐dimensional quantitative compositional analysis of nanowires is a challenge for standard techniques such as secondary ion mass spectrometry because of specimen size and geometry considerations; however, it is precisely the size and geometry of nanowires that makes them attractive candidates for analysis via atom probe tomography. The resulting boron composition of various trimethylboron vapour–liquid–solid grown silicon nanowires were measured both with time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and pulsed‐laser atom probe tomography. Both characterization techniques yielded similar results for relative composition. Specialized specimen preparation for pulsed‐laser atom probe tomography was utilized and is described in detail whereby individual silicon nanowires are first protected, then lifted out, trimmed, and finally wet etched to remove the protective layer for subsequent three‐dimensional analysis.
ISSN:0022-2720
1365-2818
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2818.2010.03375.x