Surface and Thin Film Analysis - Nonthermal Plasma Chemistry and Physics - page 281

TABLE 7.4
X-Ray Techniques and Alternative Methods of Thin Film Analysis

Film Property X-Ray Method Alternatives

Phase composition GIXD: Bragg angle, intensity TEM

Chemical composition
(concentration depth profile)

GIXD: Bragg angle EDX, XPS, RBS , ERDA

Macrostress GIXD: Bragg angle Substrate curvature, laser

optics

Grain size GIXD: line profile, line width TEM, SEM

Microstrain GIXD: line profile

Preferred orientation GIXD: intensity, polfigure

Crystal structure GIXD: Rietveld analysis,

structure refinement

Thickness GIXD: intensity, XR: Kiessig

fringes

Interferometry, piezoelectirc
crystal, ellipsometry, TEM

Density XR: critical angle of total

reflection

ellipsometry

Surface roughness, interface
roughness

XR: amplitude of Kiessig
fringes

SEM, ellipsometry, AFM

Diffusion behavior In situ GIXD, thermal and

time resolved: intensity

SIMS, AES, combined with
sputtering

Crystallization rate, melting
point

In situ GIXD, thermal and
time resolved: intensity

Monochromator Detector

X-ray
source

Divergence slit

SOLLER slit

Detector
window

Diffraction angle 2θ

Incidence angle ω

Layer

Substrate

FIGURE 7.17 Schematic diagram of grazing incidence x-ray diffractometry, 2θ Bragg angle,
ω angle of incidence (asymmetric Bragg case).

on the thickness d , the mean absorption coefficients of the film, and the incidence
angle the gradients of structure

parameters can be measured. A further advantage of GIXD compared to the Bragg-
Brentano geometry is that the information depth is independent of the Bragg angle
2θ if the incidence angle

ω of the x-ray beam. By variation of incidence angle ω

ω is small.