Recent Developments in Transmission Electron Microscopy for Crystallographic Characterization of Strained Semiconductor Heterostructures
Tao Gong,
Longqing Chen,
Xiaoyi Wang,
Yang Qiu,
Huiyun Liu,
Zixing Yang,
Thomas Walther
Affiliations
Tao Gong
College of Electrical Engineering, Southwest Minzu University, State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Chengdu 610041, China
Longqing Chen
Key Laboratory of Radiation Physics and Technology of Ministry of Education, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
Xiaoyi Wang
College of Electronics and Information, Southwest Minzu University, State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Chengdu 610041, China
Yang Qiu
Pico Center, SUSTech Core Research Facilities, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Huiyun Liu
Department of Electronic and Electrical Eng., University College London, London WC1E 7JE, UK
Zixing Yang
College of Electrical Engineering, Southwest Minzu University, State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Chengdu 610041, China
Thomas Walther
School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield S1 3JD, UK
With recent electronic devices relying on sub-nanometer features, the understanding of device performance requires a direct probe of the atomic arrangement. As an ideal tool for crystallographic analysis at the nanoscale, aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy (ACTEM) has the ability to provide atomically resolved images and core-loss spectra. Herein, the techniques for crystallographic structure analysis based on ACTEM are reviewed and discussed, particularly ACTEM techniques for measuring strain, dislocations, phase transition, and lattice in-plane misorientation. In situ observations of crystal evolution during the application of external forces or electrical fields are also introduced, so a correlation between crystal quality and device performance can be obtained.
