Non-Destructive Evaluation of Nano-Sized Structure of Thin Film Devices by Using Small Angle Neutron Scattering

Nano-sized multi-layers copper-doped SrZrO₃, platinum (Pt) and silicon oxide (SiO₂) on silicon substrates were prepared by dense plasma focus (DPF) device with the high purity copper anode tip and analyzed by using small angle neutron scattering (SANS) to establish a reliable method for the non-destructive evaluation of the under-layer structure. Thin film was well formed at the time-to-dip of 5 μsec with stable plasma of DPF. Several smooth intensity peaks were periodically observed when neutron beam penetrates the thin film with multi-layers perpendicularly. The platinum layer is dominant to intensity peaks, where the copper-doped SrZnO₃ layer next to the platinum layer causes peak broadening. The silicon oxide layer has less effect on the SANS spectra due to its relative thick thickness. The SANS spectra shows thicknesses of platinum and copper-doped SrZnO₃ layers as 53 and 25 nm, respectively, which are well agreement with microstructure observation.