J. Stangl et al., Vertical correlation of SiGe islands in SiGe/Si superlattices: X-ray diffraction versus transmission electron microscopy, APPL PHYS L, 77(24), 2000, pp. 3953-3955
We have investigated the vertical correlation properties of SiGe islands in
a series of Si/SiGe multilayers using grazing incidence x-ray diffraction.
The degree of island correlation is found to strongly depend on the thickn
ess of the Si spacer layer separating subsequent SiGe layers. A comparison
with results obtained from transmission electron microscopy demonstrates th
e feasibility of the x-ray diffraction method for the investigation of samp
le series, and an improved statistical accuracy of the obtained parameters:
with x-ray diffraction, the statistical average of typically 10(6)-10(7) i
sland columns is obtained, compared to only few in the case of transmission
electron microscopy. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(0
0)00252-7].