Characterization and elemental analysis of nano- and microdimensional structures using PIXE and RBS

Dipl.-Phys. Christoph Meinecke

Due to the current research in materials science, like in semiconductor physics, the production of micro- and nanostructures raises more interest for basic researchers. The aim is to control the electronic, magnetic and optical properties by variation of the elemental composition and feature size. During the last few years we developed an elemental characterization of different micro- and nanostructures using ion beam analysis with an expected spatial resolution of 100 nm, which is unique in the world. New analytical experiments using focused high energy ion beams can reveal, apart from stoichiometry and morphology, also the lattice structure of the micro- and nanostructures. The application of ion channeling like channeling-RBS and channeling-STIM to these new nanostructures, reveals lattice distortions. This project characterizes sub-micrometer structures of different shapes and compositions (heterostructures, coated structures, homogeneous doped structures etc.) to learn more about growth procedures, electronic and magnetic properties, elemental distributions of multilayered microstructures and crystal quality using focused high energy ions.