X-ray standing wave microscopy: Chemical microanalysis with atomic resolution

We introduce a microprobe technique based on the x-ray standing wave method (XSW) demonstrating that structural analysis can be achieved with chemical sensitivity on a microscopic scale. We apply this XSW microscopy technique to study an epitaxially grown GaAs/Al0.1Ga0.9As/GaAs(001) heterostructure in cross section. We focus the x-ray beam by a refractive lens onto the cleaved sample and analyze the constituent elements within the 4 mum thick Al0.1Ga0.9As layer resolving the substitutional location of Al. The new micro-XSW technique will permit microscopic examinations of the structure of integrated semiconductor devices or microscopic crystalline grains with chemical sensitivity and structural resolution on the pm scale. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.