title: Scanning X-ray strain microscopy of inhomogeneously strained Ge micro-bridges.
abstract: Strained semiconductors are ubiquitous in microelectronics and microelectromechanical systems, where high local stress levels can either be detrimental for their integrity or enhance their performance. Consequently, local probes for elastic strain are essential in analyzing such devices. Here, a scanning X-ray sub-microprobe experiment for the direct measurement of deformation over large areas in single-crystal thin films with a spatial resolution close to the focused X-ray beam size is presented. By scanning regions of interest of several tens of micrometers at different rocking angles of the sample in the vicinity of two Bragg reflections, reciprocal space is effectively mapped in three dimensions at each scanning position, obtaining the bending, as well as the in-plane and out-of-plane strain components. Highly strained large-area Ge structures with applications in optoelectronics are used to demonstrate the potential of this technique and the results are compared with finite-element-method models for validation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Semiconductor and Solid State Physics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenbergerstrasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria.
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Etzelstorfer
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscopy, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 16, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Martin J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Süess
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gustav L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Schiefler
authors.affiliation: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, BP 220, 38043 Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: Vincent L R
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Jacques
authors.affiliation: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, BP 220, 38043 Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carbone
authors.affiliation: L-NESS, Dipartimento di Fisica del Politecnico di Milano, Polo di Como, 22100 Como, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chrastina
authors.affiliation: L-NESS, Dipartimento di Fisica del Politecnico di Milano, Polo di Como, 22100 Como, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Isella
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Nanometallurgy, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Spolenak
authors.affiliation: Institute of Semiconductor and Solid State Physics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenbergerstrasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria.
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stangl
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sigg
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diaz
keywords: X-ray diffraction; local probe X-ray diffraction; strain