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Staeck S, Andrle A, Hönicke P, Baumann J, Grötzsch D, Weser J, Goetzke G, Jonas A, Kayser Y, Förste F, Mantouvalou I, Viefhaus J, Soltwisch V, Stiel H, Beckhoff B, Kanngießer B. Scan-Free GEXRF in the Soft X-ray Range for the Investigation of Structured Nanosamples. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:3766. [PMID: 36364540 PMCID: PMC9658930 DOI: 10.3390/nano12213766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Scan-free grazing-emission X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (GEXRF) is an established technique for the investigation of the elemental depth-profiles of various samples. Recently it has been applied to investigating structured nanosamples in the tender X-ray range. However, lighter elements such as oxygen, nitrogen or carbon cannot be efficiently investigated in this energy range, because of the ineffective excitation. Moreover, common CCD detectors are not able to discriminate between fluorescence lines below 1 keV. Oxygen and nitrogen are important components of insulation and passivation layers, for example, in silicon oxide or silicon nitride. In this work, scan-free GEXRF is applied in proof-of-concept measurements for the investigation of lateral ordered 2D nanostructures in the soft X-ray range. The sample investigated is a Si3N4 lamellar grating, which represents 2D periodic nanostructures as used in the semiconductor industry. The emerging two-dimensional fluorescence patterns are recorded with a CMOS detector. To this end, energy-dispersive spectra are obtained via single-photon event evaluation. In this way, spatial and therefore angular information is obtained, while discrimination between different photon energies is enabled. The results are compared to calculations of the sample model performed by a Maxwell solver based on the finite-elements method. A first measurement is carried out at the UE56-2 PGM-2 beamline at the BESSY II synchrotron radiation facility to demonstrate the feasibility of the method in the soft X-ray range. Furthermore, a laser-produced plasma source (LPP) is utilized to investigate the feasibility of this technique in the laboratory. The results from the BESSY II measurements are in good agreement with the simulations and prove the applicability of scan-free GEXRF in the soft X-ray range for quality control and process engineering of 2D nanostructures. The LPP results illustrate the chances and challenges concerning a transfer of the methodology to the laboratory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen Staeck
- TU Berlin, Analytical X-ray Physics, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Anna Andrle
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Philipp Hönicke
- TU Berlin, Analytical X-ray Physics, 10623 Berlin, Germany
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jonas Baumann
- TU Berlin, Analytical X-ray Physics, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Jan Weser
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Gesa Goetzke
- TU Berlin, Analytical X-ray Physics, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Adrian Jonas
- TU Berlin, Analytical X-ray Physics, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Yves Kayser
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Frank Förste
- TU Berlin, Analytical X-ray Physics, 10623 Berlin, Germany
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Beckhoff B. Traceable Characterization of Nanomaterials by X-ray Spectrometry Using Calibrated Instrumentation. NANOMATERIALS 2022; 12:nano12132255. [PMID: 35808090 PMCID: PMC9268651 DOI: 10.3390/nano12132255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Traceable characterization methods allow for the accurate correlation of the functionality or toxicity of nanomaterials with their underlaying chemical, structural or physical material properties. These correlations are required for the directed development of nanomaterials to reach target functionalities such as conversion efficiencies or selective sensitivities. The reliable characterization of nanomaterials requires techniques that often need to be adapted to the nano-scaled dimensions of the samples with respect to both the spatial dimensions of the probe and the instrumental or experimental discrimination capability. The traceability of analytical methods revealing information on chemical material properties relies on reference materials or qualified calibration samples, the spatial elemental distributions of which must be very similar to the nanomaterial of interest. At the nanoscale, however, only few well-known reference materials exist. An alternate route to establish the required traceability lays in the physical calibration of the analytical instrument’s response behavior and efficiency in conjunction with a good knowledge of the various interaction probabilities. For the elemental analysis, speciation, and coordination of nanomaterials, such a physical traceability can be achieved with X-ray spectrometry. This requires the radiometric calibration of energy- and wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometers, as well as the reliable determination of atomic X-ray fundamental parameters using such instrumentation. In different operational configurations, the information depths, discrimination capability, and sensitivity of X-ray spectrometry can be considerably modified while preserving its traceability, allowing for the characterization of surface contamination as well as interfacial thin layer and nanoparticle chemical compositions. Furthermore, time-resolved and hybrid approaches provide access to analytical information under operando conditions or reveal dimensional information, such as elemental or species depth profiles of nanomaterials. The aim of this review is to demonstrate the absolute quantification capabilities of SI-traceable X-ray spectrometry based upon calibrated instrumentation and knowledge about X-ray interaction probabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Burkhard Beckhoff
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Abbestraße 2-12, 10587 Berlin, Germany
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Jiang Z, Strzalka JW, Walko DA, Wang J. Reconstruction of evolving nanostructures in ultrathin films with X-ray waveguide fluorescence holography. Nat Commun 2020; 11:3197. [PMID: 32581274 PMCID: PMC7314812 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16980-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Controlled synthesis of nanostructure ultrathin films is critical for applications in nanoelectronics, photonics, and energy generation and storage. The paucity of structural probes that are sensitive to nanometer-thick films and also capable of in-operando conditions with high spatiotemporal resolutions limits the understanding of morphology and dynamics in ultrathin films. Similar to X-ray fluorescence holography for crystals, where holograms are formed through the interference between the reference and the object waves, we demonstrated that an ultrathin film, being an X-ray waveguide, can also generate fluorescence holograms as a result of the establishment of X-ray standing waves. Coupled with model-independent reconstruction algorithms based on rigorous dynamical scattering theories, the thin-film-based X-ray waveguide fluorescence holography becomes a unique in situ and time-resolved imaging probe capable of elucidating the real-time nanostructure kinetics with unprecedented resolutions. Combined with chemical sensitive spectroscopic analysis, the reconstruction can yield element-specific morphology of embedding nanostructures in ultrathin films. The authors introduce X-ray waveguide fluorescence holography based on the waveguiding properties of thin films. Combined with model-independent reconstruction algorithms, they show that the method can be used for real-time nanostructure kinetic studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhang Jiang
- Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA.
| | - Joseph W Strzalka
- Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA
| | - Donald A Walko
- Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA
| | - Jin Wang
- Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA.
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Baumann J, Jonas A, Reusch R, Szwedowski-Rammert V, Spanier M, Grötzsch D, Bethke K, Pollakowski-Herrmann B, Krämer M, Holz T, Dietsch R, Mantouvalou I, Kanngießer B. Toroidal multilayer mirrors for laboratory soft X-ray grazing emission X-ray fluorescence. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2020; 91:016102. [PMID: 32012533 DOI: 10.1063/1.5130708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Efficient soft X-ray spectroscopy in the laboratory is still a challenging task. Here, we report on new toroidal multilayer optics designed and applied with the laser-produced plasma (LPP) source of the Berlin Laboratory for innovative X-ray technologies. The optics are described and characterized, and the application of the updated source to scanning-free grazing emission X-ray fluorescence is demonstrated on thermoelectric gold-doped copper oxide nanofilms. The comparison with synchrotron measurements allows estimating a flux on the sample of approximately 7.5 × 109 photons/s in the 1 keV range on a 100 µm × 100 µm spot, emphasizing the suitability of the updated LPP source for the application in photon hungry experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Baumann
- TU Berlin, Analytical X-ray Physics, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Adrian Jonas
- TU Berlin, Analytical X-ray Physics, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ruth Reusch
- TU Berlin, Analytical X-ray Physics, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Malte Spanier
- TU Berlin, Analytical X-ray Physics, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Kevin Bethke
- HU Berlin, Department of Chemistry, 12489 Berlin, Germany
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