A diffraction-based transmission electron microscope technique for measuring average grain size

Grain size in a single-phase film such as polycrystalline silicon can be a difficult quantity to measure because grains are differentiated from one an other by crystallographic orientation alone. This paper describes a simple method for determining average grain size in polycrystalline silicon using transmission electron microscope (TEM) convergent beam electron diffraction (CBED) patterns to delineate grain boundaries. Measurements are compared w ith results obtained using bright-field TEM contrast and surface topography as measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results show a reasonable ag reement between the techniques; in particular, CBED and AFM measurements ar e close enough that a correlation may be made. (C) 2000 The Electrochemical Society. S1099-0062(00)04-015-3. All rights reserved.