Polycrystalline lithium fluoride thin films have a number of existing and potential uses, but the optimization of their microstructure has not yet been addressed systematically. We have developed a means of measuring the porosity in LiF films, and a method for performing detailed electron-microscopical studies on this normally beamsensitive material. These techniques have been applied to assess the structure of LiF films immediately after deposition from the vapor phase, and also after subsequent annealing.
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