Thickness determination of few-layer hexagonal boron nitride films by scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy

We assess scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) for thickness measurements on few-layer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), the layered dielectric of choice for integration with graphene and other two-dimensional materials. Observations on h-BN islands with large, atom...

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Main Authors: P. Sutter, E. Sutter
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIP Publishing LLC 2014-09-01
Series:APL Materials
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4889815
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spelling doaj-art-9358bee483204ad19b8b5660819d12582018-09-02T18:02:54ZengAIP Publishing LLCAPL Materials2166-532X2014-09-0129092502092502-710.1063/1.4889815002492APMThickness determination of few-layer hexagonal boron nitride films by scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopyP. Sutter0E. Sutter1Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USACenter for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USAWe assess scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) for thickness measurements on few-layer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), the layered dielectric of choice for integration with graphene and other two-dimensional materials. Observations on h-BN islands with large, atomically flat terraces show that the secondary electron intensity in SEM reflects monolayer height changes in films up to least 10 atomic layers thickness. From a quantitative analysis of AES data, the energy-dependent electron escape depth in h-BN films is deduced. The results show that AES is suitable for absolute thickness measurements of few-layer h-BN of 1 to 6 layers.http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4889815
institution Open Data Bank
collection Open Access Journals
building Directory of Open Access Journals
language English
format Article
author P. Sutter
E. Sutter
spellingShingle P. Sutter
E. Sutter
Thickness determination of few-layer hexagonal boron nitride films by scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy
APL Materials
author_facet P. Sutter
E. Sutter
author_sort P. Sutter
title Thickness determination of few-layer hexagonal boron nitride films by scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy
title_short Thickness determination of few-layer hexagonal boron nitride films by scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy
title_full Thickness determination of few-layer hexagonal boron nitride films by scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy
title_fullStr Thickness determination of few-layer hexagonal boron nitride films by scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy
title_full_unstemmed Thickness determination of few-layer hexagonal boron nitride films by scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy
title_sort thickness determination of few-layer hexagonal boron nitride films by scanning electron microscopy and auger electron spectroscopy
publisher AIP Publishing LLC
series APL Materials
issn 2166-532X
publishDate 2014-09-01
description We assess scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) for thickness measurements on few-layer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), the layered dielectric of choice for integration with graphene and other two-dimensional materials. Observations on h-BN islands with large, atomically flat terraces show that the secondary electron intensity in SEM reflects monolayer height changes in films up to least 10 atomic layers thickness. From a quantitative analysis of AES data, the energy-dependent electron escape depth in h-BN films is deduced. The results show that AES is suitable for absolute thickness measurements of few-layer h-BN of 1 to 6 layers.
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4889815
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