Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026
Ohmic Contact Fabrication Using a Focused-ion Beam Technique and Electrical Characterization for Layer Semiconductor Nanostructures
Published on: December 5, 2015
High-accuracy analysis of nanoscale semiconductor layers using beam-exit ar-ion polishing and scanning probe
Alexander J Robson1, Ilya Grishin, Robert J Young
1Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YB, United Kingdom. a.robson@lancaster.ac.uk
Abstract:
A novel method of sample cross sectioning, beam-exit Ar-ion cross-sectional polishing, has been combined with scanning probe microscopy to study thin AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs layers. Additional contrast enhancement via a citric acid/hydrogen peroxide etch allows us to report the observation of layers as thin as 1 nm. Layer thickness measurements agree with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data to 0.1 ± 0.2 nm, making this a very promising low-cost method for nanoscale analysis of semiconductor heterostructures.
