Scanning X-ray strain microscopy of inhomogeneously strained Ge micro-bridges

Journal of Synchrotron Radiation
Tanja EtzelstorferAna Diaz

Abstract

Strained semiconductors are ubiquitous in microelectronics and microelectromechanical systems, where high local stress levels can either be detrimental for their integrity or enhance their performance. Consequently, local probes for elastic strain are essential in analyzing such devices. Here, a scanning X-ray sub-microprobe experiment for the direct measurement of deformation over large areas in single-crystal thin films with a spatial resolution close to the focused X-ray beam size is presented. By scanning regions of interest of several tens of micrometers at different rocking angles of the sample in the vicinity of two Bragg reflections, reciprocal space is effectively mapped in three dimensions at each scanning position, obtaining the bending, as well as the in-plane and out-of-plane strain components. Highly strained large-area Ge structures with applications in optoelectronics are used to demonstrate the potential of this technique and the results are compared with finite-element-method models for validation.

References

Jun 4, 2008·Physical Review Letters·Florian HüeAlain Claverie
Feb 18, 2009·Journal of Microscopy·S VillertR Fortunier
May 26, 2009·Nano Letters·Zhigang WuJeffrey C Grossman
Jan 26, 2011·Optics Express·Joan Vila-ComamalaChristian David
Apr 29, 2011·Journal of Synchrotron Radiation·Sergey GorelickChristian David
Dec 1, 2011·Nature Communications·P GodardV Chamard
Oct 4, 2012·Nature Communications·R A MinamisawaH Sigg

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
X-ray
chips
scanning electron microscopy

Software Mentioned

VISTEC
COMSOL Multiphysics

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