HIGH-RESOLUTION ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY OF HETEROSTRUCTURES AND INTERFACES

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HREM) allows to stud y a wide range of device-relevant topics in heteroepitaxial layer stru ctures. Quantitative HREM may be used to obtain chemical information o n a near-atomic scale from interfacial transition zones. The physical background is described and demonstrated on several examples in the Al xGal1-xAs/GaAs system. The HREM contrast of antiphase boundaries in In P grown on Si was studied by image simulations and has been compared t o experimental images. Silicon carbide precipitates were identified by HREM at the homoepitaxial Si/Si interface. They stem from carbon cont amination prior to Si layer growth.