EMAT, University of Antwerp, Belgium.
Microsc Microanal. 2010 Apr;16(2):210-7. doi: 10.1017/S1431927609991371. Epub 2010 Feb 26.
The three-dimensional (3D) distribution of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown inside semiconductor contact holes is studied by electron tomography. The use of a specialized tomography holder results in an angular tilt range of +/-90 degrees , which means that the so-called "missing wedge" is absent. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample for this purpose consists of a micropillar that is prepared by a dedicated procedure using the focused ion beam (FIB) but keeping the CNTs intact. The 3D results are combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) to study the relation between the CNTs and the catalyst particles used during their growth. The reconstruction, based on the full range of tilt angles, is compared with a reconstruction where a missing wedge is present. This clearly illustates that the missing wedge will lead to an unreliable interpretation and will limit quantitative studies.
通过电子断层扫描技术研究了半导体接触孔内生长的碳纳米管（CNT）的三维（3D）分布。使用专门的断层扫描支架可实现 +/-90 度的角度倾斜范围，这意味着不存在所谓的“缺失楔形”。为此目的而制备的透射电子显微镜（TEM）样品由微柱组成，该微柱是使用聚焦离子束（FIB）通过专用程序制备的，但同时保持 CNT 完好无损。将 3D 结果与能量色散 X 射线光谱（EDS）相结合，以研究 CNT 与生长过程中使用的催化剂颗粒之间的关系。基于全范围倾斜角度的重建与存在缺失楔形的重建进行了比较。这清楚地表明，缺失楔形将导致不可靠的解释，并限制定量研究。
