title: Spatial high resolution energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy on thin lamellas.
abstract: For conventional samples and measurement geometries the spatial resolution of energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy is limited by a tear drop shaped emission volume to about 1 μm. This restriction can be substantially improved using thin samples and high acceleration voltage. In this contribution the spatial resolution of energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy in a scanning electron microscope using thin lamella samples is investigated. At an acceleration voltage of 30 kV, an edge resolution down to Δdedge = 40 ± 10 nm is observed performing linescans across an interface, using an 80 nm thin sample prepared from a GaAs/AlAs-heterostructure. Furthermore, Monte-Carlo simulations of pure elements ranging from sodium to mercury are performed for different sample thicknesses. From the simulations we can derive a simple empirical formula to predict the spatial resolution as a function of sample thickness.
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl Nanopartikel-Prozesstechnik and CeNIDE, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Lotharstrasse 1, D-47057 Duisburg, Germany. christian.notthoff@uni-due.de
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Notthoff
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Winterer
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beckel
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Geller
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heindl