| Table 3929a. Resolution and sensitivity of
techniques for material characterizations. Spatial resolutions are < 5 nm in green, 5 ~ 50 nm in yellow, and > 50 nm in red.
Sensitivities are < 0.1% in green, 0.1% ~ 1% in yellow, and > 1% in red. |
| |
Probed depth |
Depth resolution |
Typical and best spatial resolution* |
Sensitivity to components |
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAA)
|
Outer atomic layers |
|
-- |
-- |
Auger electron spectroscopy (AES)
|
2 nm |
2 nm |
Typical: 20-100 nm; Best: < 2 nm |
0.1% |
|
|
|
Best: 10, 000 nm |
|
|
10 nm-µm |
|
1 µm |
ppm |
| |
< 1 µm |
|
~1 - 20 nm |
500 ppm (0.05%) - 1000 ppm 0.1% |
|
< 1 µm |
~1 µm |
~1 µm |
500 ppm (0.05%) - 1000 ppm 0.1% |
Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) |
2-100 nm |
|
Typical: 1 nm; Best: < 1 nm |
1-Few % |
Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA)
|
1 µm |
|
0.5 µm |
100 ppm |
Elastic Recoil Spectrometry (ERS)
|
1 µm |
|
mm |
0.01% |
Extended X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS)
|
1 nm-Bulk |
|
mm |
Few % |
Focused ion beam (FIB) |
|
|
5-100 nm |
|
Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry (GDMS)
|
100 nm |
|
cm |
ppt-ppb |
Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)
|
5 µm |
|
mm |
ppt |
Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission (ICP-Optical)/ICP optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES)
|
5 µm |
|
mm |
ppb |
Infrared (Spectroscopy) (IR), e.g. Fourier Transform Infra-Red (Spectroscopy) (FTIR)
|
Few µm |
1 µm |
15-20 µm; Best: 3 µm |
Variable, Best 100 ppm |
Ion Scattering Spectrometry (ISS)
|
3 Å |
|
150 µm |
50ppm-l% |
Light
Microscopy |
Variable |
|
0.2 µm |
|
Low-Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED)
|
1 nm |
|
0.1 mm |
|
Local electrode atom probe (LEAP)
|
|
|
Best: < 0.1 nm |
|
Laser lonization Mass Spectrometry (LIMS)
|
100 nm |
|
2 µm |
l-100 ppm |
Laser Microprobe Mass Analysis (LAMMA)
|
|
|
Best: 1, 000 nm |
|
Medium-Energy Ion Scattering (MEIS)
|
1 nm |
|
mm |
0.1-10% |
Magneto-Optic Kerr Rotation (MOKE)
|
30 nm |
|
0.5 µm |
-- |
|
1 µm |
|
100 µm |
ppm |
Photoelectron microscopy (PEM or PEEM)
|
|
|
Best: < 0.5 nm |
|
Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA)
|
Bulk |
|
|
ppt-ppm |
|
Bulk |
|
|
|
|
Up to mm |
|
|
-- |
Nuclear Reaction Analysis (NRA)
|
10-100 nm |
|
10 µm |
10-100 ppm |
Particle Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE)
|
Few µm |
|
100 µm |
10 ppm |
Proton-induced x-ray emission (PIXE)
|
|
|
Best: < 500 nm |
|
| |
Few µm |
|
Few µm |
ppb |
Raman Spectroscopy (Raman)
|
Few µm |
|
1 µm |
Variable |
Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS)
|
2 µm |
10 nm |
mm; Best: ~ 1 µm |
0.01% (100 ppm) - 10% |
Reflected High Energy Electron Diffraction (RHEED)
|
1 nm |
|
0.01-0.02 mm |
|
Surface Analysis by Laser lonization (SALI)
|
3 Å |
|
100 nm |
ppb-ppm |
Scanning Electron Microscopy/Scanning Electron Microprobe/Secondary Electron Miscroscopy (SEM)
|
sub µm |
|
Typical: 2- 10 nm |
|
Scanning Force Microscopy (SFM)
|
sub Å |
|
1 nm |
|
Dynamic Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (Dynamic SIMS)
|
2 nm |
10 nm |
1 µm; Best: 200 nm |
ppb-ppm. E.g., B: 0.002-0.01 ppm; Be, Cr and Mn: 0.002 ppm; P: 0.1 ppm; Cu, Zn, As and Al: 0.2 ppm; Si, Sn and Ge: 0.5 ppm; S, Sb and C: 1.0 ppm; O and N: 10 ppm; H: 100 ppm
|
Static Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (Static SIMS)
|
3 Å |
|
100 µm |
Few % |
Sputtered Neutrals Mass Spectrometry/Secondary Neutrals Mass Spectrometry (SNMS)
|
~2 nm |
|
cm |
50 ppm |
Spark Source Mass Spectrometry (SSMS/Spark Source)
|
3 µm |
|
cm |
0.05 ppm |
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM)
|
sub Å |
|
1 Å |
|
Conventional Transmission Electron Microscopy (CTEM)
|
1 - 200 nm |
|
5 nm - µm |
|
Bright field (BF)- Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) and HAADF |
100-200 nm |
|
Best: < 0.1 nm |
|
Selected Area Diffraction (SAD) in TEM
|
|
|
Best: 10 - 1000 nm |
|
Convergent Beam Electron Diffraction (CBED) in TEM
|
|
|
Best: 10 - 1000 nm |
|
Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS)
|
1 nm |
|
Typical: mm; Best: < 1 µm |
|
Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (VASE)
|
1 µm |
|
cm |
-- |
Wavelength Dispersive (X-Ray) Spectroscopy (WDS/WDX)
|
|
|
|
0.01 - 0.1% |
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)
|
3 nm |
2 nm |
Typical: 100–150 µm; Best: 1 µm |
0.1 - 1% |
X-Ray Photoelectron Diffraction (XPD)
|
3 nm |
|
150 µm |
1% |
|
10 µm |
|
Typical: mm; Best: < 25 nm |
3% |
X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XFS)
|
10 µm |
|
mm |
0.1% |
Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF)
|
3 nm |
1 nm |
1 mm - cm |
ppb-ppm |
X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS)
|
|
|
Best: < 20 nm |
|
X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES)
|
|
|
Best: 1.5 – 10 nm |
|
| * The best spatial resolution is the spatial resolution limit which can be reached by the modern instruments, but it is probably not the resolution limit of your instrument. |
Table 3929b. Matrix of microanalysis techniques for material characterizations.
| Probe |
Signal |
| Electron |
Ion |
Photon |
| Electron |
Auger electron spectroscopy (AES)
✔ Scanning Auger Microscopy (SAM)
✔ Scanning Auger Microprobe (SAM)
✔ Auger Electron Diffraction (AED)
✔ Angular Distribution Auger Microscopy (ADAM)
✔ Kinetic Energy (KE)
✔ Cylindrical Mirror Analyzer (CMA)
Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS)
✔ Reflection Electron Energy-Loss Microscopy (REELM)
✔ Reflected Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy (REELS)
✔ Extended Energy-Loss Fine Structure (EXELFS)
✔ Electron Energy-Loss Fine Structure (EELFS)
✔ Valence Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy (VEELS)
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
✔ Secondary Electron (SE)
✔ Backscattered Electron (BSE)
✔ Secondary Electron Microscopy with Polarization Analysis (SEMPA)
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
✔ Conventional Transmission Electron Microscopy (CTEM)
✔ Bright field (BF)- Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM)
✔ High-angle annular dark- field (HAADF)
✔ High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM)
✔ Selected Area Diffraction (SAD)
✔ Analytical Electron Microscopy (AEM)
✔ Convergent Beam Electron Diffraction (CBED)
✔ Lorentz Transmission Electron Microscopy (LTEM) |
|
Cathodoluminescence (CL)
Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS or EDX)
Wavelength Dispersive (X-Ray) Spectroscopy (WDS/WDX)
X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES)
Electron probe microanalysis (EPMA)
|
| Ion |
|
Local electrode atom probe (LEAP)
Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS)
Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS)
✔ Dynamic Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (Dynamic SIMS)
✔ Static Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (Static SIMS)
✔ SIMS using a Quadruple Mass Spectrometer (Q-SIMS)
✔ SIMS using a Magnetic Sector Mass Spectrometer (Magnetic SIMS)
✔ Sector SIMS (Magnetic SIMS)
✔ SIMS using Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (TOF-SIMS)
✔ Post lonization SIMS (PISIMS)
Ion Scattering Spectroscopy (ISS)
|
Proton-induced x-ray emission (PIXE) |
| Photon |
Photoelectron microscopy (PEM or PEEM)
Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS)
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) |
Laser Microprobe Mass Analysis (LAMMA) |
Bare human eyes
X-RayDiffraction (XRD)
✔ Grazing Incidence X-Ray Diffraction (GIXD/GIXRD)
✔ Double Crystal Diffractometer (DCD)
X-Ray Fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF)
✔ X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XFS)
✔ Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF)
✔ Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TRXFR)
X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS)
Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF)
Fourier Transform Infra-Red (Spectroscopy) (FTIR)
|
|
