Scanning Electron Microscopy
Philips XL 30

Microstructural features, film thickness and interface quality of the grown layers are observed using a Philips XL 30 Field emission scanning electron microscope/ Energy dispersive x-ray analyzer (FESEM/EDX).

Shown on the left is a typical micrograph of an MBE grown GaAs film. The light region corresponds to GaAs while the narrow dark band corresponds to AlAs. AlGaAs is seen as gray. Note that there are sharp interfaces between layers. Scanning Electron Microscopy is employed to assess the quality of the surface, the interface of the grown layers and also to determine the growth rates of GaAs/AlGAs layers.The light region corresponds to GaAs while the narrow dark band corresponds to AlAs. AlGaAs is seen as gray. Note that there are sharp interfaces between layers.