Cross-sectional atomic force microscopy imaging of polycrystalline thin films

C Ballif; HR Moutinho; FS Hasoon; RG Dhere; MM Al-Jassim

doi:10.1016/s0304-3991(00)00043-7

Cross-sectional atomic force microscopy imaging of polycrystalline thin films

Ultramicroscopy. 2000 Oct;85(2):61-71. doi: 10.1016/s0304-3991(00)00043-7.

Authors

C Ballif¹, HR Moutinho, FS Hasoon, RG Dhere, MM Al-Jassim

Affiliation

¹ National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA.

PMID: 11014480
DOI: 10.1016/s0304-3991(00)00043-7

Abstract

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) can be used to image cross-sections of thin-film samples. So far, however, it has mainly been used to study cross-sections of epitaxial systems or integrated circuits on crystalline substrates. In this paper, we show that AFM is a powerful tool to image fractured cross-sections of polycrystalline thin films deposited on crystalline and non-crystalline substrates, yielding unique information on the three-dimensional properties of the cross-sections, with a spatial resolution in the nm range. Original images of three different heterostructure systems are presented: Si(wafer)/SnO2/CdS/CdTe, glass/Mo/Cu(In,Ga)Se2,/CdS/ZnO, and glass/SnO2/WO3. We discuss the results by comparing AFM and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, and explain, for the different materials, why the AFM provides useful additional information.