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...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
AIP Publishing LLC
2014-09-01
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| Series: | APL Materials |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4889815 |
| Summary: | 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. |
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| ISSN: | 2166-532X |