High-accuracy analysis of nanoscale semiconductor layers using beam-exit ar-ion polishing and scanning probe microscopy.

A novel method of sample cross sectioning, beam-exit Ar-ion cross-sectional polishing, has been combined with scanning probe microscopy to study thin AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs layers. Additional contrast enhancement via a citric acid/hydrogen peroxide etch allows us to report the observation of layers as thin as 1 nm. Layer thickness measurements agree with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data to 0.1 ± 0.2 nm, making this a very promising low-cost method for nanoscale analysis of semiconductor heterostructures.