Electron energy loss spectroscopic profiling of semiconductor hetero- and nano-structures: theory, implementation, applications

The method of energy loss spectroscopic profiling (ELSP) in a transmission electron microscope is described, with emphasis on the implementation for a post-columnar energy filter and the optimisation of both energy and spatial resolution. Applications to thin film semiconductors (SiGe / Si, ZnMgSSe / ZnSe and Cd(Mn,Mg)Te / CdTe), to oxide layers (SrTiO3 / (La0.7Ca0.3)MnO3) and to nano-particles (LaPO4:Ce) demonstrate the potential of this technique for solving physical, chemical or technological problems related to diffusion and segregation of elements otherwise not readily accessible. Possible quantification procedures and recent results are presented