232 Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B36 (1989) 232-233

North-Holland. Amsterdam

BOOK REVIEWS

This section of NIM B will bring reviews of books relevant for the regular readership of the journal. Books for

review should be sent to one of the Editors.

ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR THIN. FILMS (Treatise on Materials Science and Technology, vol. 27) edited by K.N. Tu and R. Rosenberg (Academic Press, San Diego and London, 1988) pp. xii + 493, Hard Cover, US $89.95. ISBN O-12-341827-X

Level: Specialist Reviewer: Erik Johnson, Copenhagen

Concurrent with a rapid expansion of the technologi- cal potential for thin films in a variety of applications, thin film physics and the technology of thin films are subjects gaining a steadily increasing interest from large groups of materials scientists. It is in this context that this volume on Analytical Techniques for Thin Films

should be seen. It is a companion volume to Preparation and Properties of Thin Film which was issued in 1982 as volume 24 in the present series, and together the two volumes form a substantial treatise on the subject of thin film technology.

The present volume contains 11 contributions on various aspects of thin film analysis, related to scatter- ing and excitation phenomena and conveniently grouped according to the nature of the probing beam: Photon beam and X-ray techniques (5 chapters), electron beam techniques (3 chapters) and ion beam technique (2 chapters).

The volume is introduced with a short contribution on “Submicron structure and analysis” written by the editors. This is a good idea as it provides a background for the choice of subjects presented, where emphasis has been given to techniques capable of providing quantita- tive microstructural and spectroscopic information. Among these, photoemission spectroscopy and ESCA analysis are near-surface techniques where depth profil- ing is often achieved by sputtering. In this context I miss a discussion - or a contribution - on the deteoria- tion of depth resolution when various surface spec- troscopies are combined with sputter depth profiling. Applications of X-ray diffraction for stress/strain anal- ysis and studies of diffusion in thin films are less conventional, and the contributions show the great potential of such -techniques. This is the case too for direct imaging with soft X-rays, and it is therefore a little disappointing that the otherwise exciting article

0168-583X/89/$03.50 0 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland Physics Publishing Division)

does not present any examples of submicron micro- structures as seen with X-rays.

The development in modem thin film physics to- wards submicron and nanometer structural engineering and the accompanying need for analytical techniques capable of providing high spatial and depth resolution has been taken into account by incorporation of three contributions on electron microscopy. Applications of cross-sectional microscopy techniques to electronic materials and devices have been treated in great detail, and combined with the possibilities for microscopy on the atomic resolution level, transmission electron micro- scopes and the analytical facilities of dedicated STEM instruments will continue to be part of the major instru- mentation in thin film laboratories.

Rutherford backscattering analysis is one of the most versatile and frequently used ion beam techniques in studies of thin films. It is a well established technique capable of providing chemical and, in combination with channeling analysis, structural information with a depth resolution of about 10 nm. However, in this context I miss contributions on other ion beam techniques such as nuclear reaction analysis and SIMS analysis, which particularly for light elements can supplement the RBS analysis. Such papers might have usefully replaced the contribution on atom-probe field ion microscopy, which although it is fascinating to read seems a little out of context.

Apparently, the affiliation of the editors to the elec- tronic world community has given the volume a strong bias towards semiconductor and electronic materials at the expense of metals, ceramics and polymers. This is, however, not necessarily a drawback as it makes the book more comprehensive to read and in between, readers with an interest in thin metal films can find several informative points of interest. Nevertheless, we are still left with a need for a series of more general reviews on thin film technologies.

Adaption of the individual contributions to a com- mon format - one of the most difficult tasks for all editors - has only partially succeeded. Some chapters are merely encyclopedic and aimed at a specialist level while others present thorough and critical surveys of the subjects aimed at a broader group of readers. Person- ally, I prefer the latter. As such, I would particularly

Book Reviews 233

like to recommend the two contributions on X-ray diffraction analysis, the paper on cross-sectional elec- tron microscopy and the paper on scanning electron microscopy.

As a whole, the volume presents a good survey of

NEUTRON SCATTERING AT A PULSED SOURCE (Lectures given at a Summer School at ISIS, 16-24 September 1986) edited by R.J. Newport, B.D. Rain- ford and R. Cywinski (Adam Hilger, Bristol and Phila- delphia, 1988) pp, xiv + 413. Hard cover, E 32.50. ISBN O-85274-266-1.

Level: Graduate/postgraduate Reviewer: Kell Mortensen, Rise National Laboratory

The aim of this book is to provide an introduction to the theory and experimental practice of neutron scatter- ing for probing structures in fields within physics, chem- istry, biology and materials science. The book is based on lectures presented at the Summer School on Neutron Scattering at a Pulsed Source, held at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (ISIS) and in Mansfield College, Oxford during September 1986.

Although the book is written by 16 different authors, the text is worked out into an entirety with clear con- tinuity from one chapter to another, and several refer- ences between the various chapters. The book describes the application of a variety of the most recently devel- oped techniques, including both new kinds of spec- trometer and new principles for data handling. The text is moreover elucidated with a number of new results on subjects of major current interests, as for example the new ceramic high-temperature superconductors and fractal objects.

The book, which is written in a tutorial level, is valid primarily for experimentalists, as it concentrates on conceptual rather than rigorous mathematical under- standing of the subject. According to the cover title the book is mainly useful for people with interest in the use of pulsed neutron sources. However, the major part of the text describes neutron scattering in general, and at the most only a single chapter is dedicated more specifi- cally to the use of pulsed sources. In several chapters, on the other hand, relevant comparisons between the validity of a reactor and pulsed sources are discussed. I hope that the title of the book will not cause limitation in its use.

The book is divided into three parts: (1) introductory theory of neutron scattering; (2) instrumentation and data handling; and (3) topics in diffraction and in inelastic scattering.

The basic theoretical framework for neutron scatter-

modern analytical techniques to be used in thin film analysis. The subjects that have been selected are with a couple of exceptions still undergoing rapid develop- ment, and several of the contributions are exciting to read even for nonspecialists in the field.

ing is covered throroughly in the introductory part of J.M.F. Gunn, who within a relative simple notation discusses the most fundamental terms, from the devel- opment of Bragg equations to quantized correlation functions. More specific applications of the scattering theory are discussed in the third part of the book covering special topics of diffraction.

The second part describes the basic principles for instrumentation, both at a reactor and pulsed sources, and details on the quality of individual design is dis- cussed. Moreover, various aspects of data handling are described, including data acquisition systems and the basis for correction procedures. A review of the princi- ple of the maximum entropy technique for parameter fitting is treated with illustrative examples.

The major part of the book discusses the principal areas of science where the neutron scattering technique is currently among the most important tools for re- search. These include single-crystal diffraction, powder diffraction, diffraction from liquids and amorphous materials, small-angle scattering, neutron optics, inelas- tic and quasi-elastic scattering, high-energy excitations and magnetic scattering.

In this review I can only include a few of the numerous examples discussed in the text. For example, one chapter deals with powder diffraction and gives details on the Rietveld method of profile analysis. Ex- amples of powder data from LaBaCuO superconductors are discussed. The use of contrast variation by H,O-D,O exchange in the small-angle scattering tech- nique is discussed, with special emphasis on low-resolu- tion structural analysis of biological systems. The mea- surement of the surface roughness is treated along with examples from Langmuir-Blodgett films. The various techniques for inelastic studies (triple-axis spectrome- ters, time-of-flight-, back-scattering- and spin echo methods) are discussed, and among the examples of inelastic studies which are given I can mention diffu- sion, spin wave excitations and search for Bose con- densation in 4He.

In conclusion I find that the present book gives an excellent introduction to the use of neutron scattering techniques in a variety of scientific areas. The book is characterized by avoiding the most detailed mathemati- cal formulas which may be needed for data analysis in practice, but gives relevant references to original litera- ture.