ABSTRACT
During the characterization of thin SiO2/Si3N4/SiO2 multilayer dielectrics by TEM and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) both methods yield erroneous results by creating an approx. 1–2 nm thick nitrogen rich additional layer at the SiO2/Si interface. Since the thickness of this layer increases with electron dose we suggest electron beam induced diffusion of nitrogen from the Si3N4 layer to the SiO2/Si interface to be responsible for this artefact. Reduction of the electron beam current density for AES and TEM and rapid assessment in the case of TEM yields satisfactory results.
