Combining Nanofocused X-Rays with Electrical Measurements at the NanoMAX Beamline

Abstract

The advent of nanofocused X-ray beams has allowed the study of single nanocrystals and complete nanoscale devices in a nondestructive manner, using techniques such as scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Further insight into semiconductor devices can be achieved by combining these techniques with simultaneous electrical measurements. Here, we present a system for electrical biasing and current measurement of single nanostructure devices, which has been developed for the NanoMAX beamline at the fourth-generation synchrotron, MAX IV, Sweden. The system was tested on single InP nanowire devices. The mechanical stability was sufficient to collect scanning XRD and XRF maps with a 50 nm diameter focus. The dark noise of the current measurement system was about 3 fA, which allowed fly scan measurements of X-ray beam induced current (XBIC) in single nanowire devices.

Nanoscale mapping of the full strain tensor, rotation and composition in partially relaxed In$_x$Ga$_{1-x}$N layers by scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy

“…On the other hand, synchrotron based X-ray diffraction microscopy techniques provide high lattice sensitivity and experienced an intensive development based on improved optics [11]. Focusing the beam now enables scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy (SXDM) measurements with a resolution down to tens of nanometers [12,13]. The use of a polychromatic ('white') beam leads to the simultaneous excitation of several Bragg reflections and the resulting Laue patterns provide information about the full strain tensor [14,15].…”

Differential electron yield imaging with STXM

“…Its sub-50 nm [1,2,3] spatial resolution is better than the ∼ 1 µm resolution of Raman imaging, and its beam-induced radiation damage is less that that of electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) [1]. STXM has found broad application in the biological and physical sciences [3,4,5,6,7,8] and has been used to study device physics in solar cells [6,7], spin-torque memory [9], resistive memory [10] , and the Li-ion battery cathode material Li x FePO 4 [11].…”

In situ imaging of ferroelastic domain dynamics in CsPbBr3 perovskite nanowires by nanofocused scanning X-ray diffraction

“…With the recent development in X-ray optics it is now possible to focus X-rays down to the nanoscale. Combining the traditional high sensitivity to lattice spacing and tilt, as well as its characteristic to probe deep into the sample, nanofocused scanning X-ray diffraction is a unique powerful technique on the study of MHPs domain dynamics [2].In this work, we demonstrate in situ temperature-dependent imaging of ferroelastic domains in a single nanowire of metal halide perovskite, CsPbBr3, using scanning X-ray diffraction with a 60 nm beam [3] to retrieve local structural properties for temperatures up to 140 °C [4]. We observed a single Bragg peak at room temperature, but at 80 °C, four new Bragg peaks appeared, originating in different real-space domains, as depicted in Fig.…”

“…With the recent development in X-ray optics it is now possible to focus X-rays down to the nanoscale. Combining the traditional high sensitivity to lattice spacing and tilt, as well as its characteristic to probe deep into the sample, nanofocused scanning X-ray diffraction is a unique powerful technique on the study of MHPs domain dynamics [2].…”