ABSTRACT
Plate-shaped cavities associated with helium implanted silicon are investigated by diffraction contrast imaging. An unambiguous determination of the cavity pressure p is achieved by comparing the experimentally measured distances between contrast fringe extreme positions with values obtained from numerical contrast simulations based on the column approximation in tandem with the linear theory of elasticity. The platelet-like cavities are oriented with a surface normal along the directions and are surrounded by a ring system of smaller spherical bubbles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) plan-view and cross-sectional samples were recorded using a magnification calibrated Philips CM20 instrument equipped with a field emission gun operated under parallel illumination conditions. The whole set of parameters needed for simulating diffraction contrast images have to cover the material properties, the displacement field in the TEM sample and the imaging conditions.
