ABSTRACT
The occurrence and type of defects found in molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) layers are expected to be different to those found in chemical vapor deposition material. This chapter presents ex situ assessment of layers. In situ assessment techniques and instrumentation are more closely related to MBE equipment design. It discusses crystalline quality of epitaxial layers and methods by which crystalline quality. Simple, yet powerful techniques such as preferential chemical etching and optical microscopy are considered together with more sophisticated forms of microscopy such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The chapter considers the most commonly used techniques for the assessment of the crystalline quality of Si-MBE layers. It highlights the techniques requiring more complex apparatus, such as TEM, X-ray topography, and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. The chapter also discusses the spreading resistance, anodic sectioning and resistance profiling, capacitance-voltage (CV), electrochemical CV, neutron activation analysis and secondary ion mass spectrometry techniques.
