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Interface dislocations present in a Si0.85Ge0.15/Si sample have been imaged using the channeling scanning transmission ion microscopy (CSTIM) method with a 2 MeV proton beam 200 nm across. Groups of parallel dislocations gave dark bands of contrast down to ∼1.5 μm across, the contrast arising from dechanneling of the beam by the bent lattice planes. Tilting of the sample caused the band contrast to change and gave quantitative data concerning the local bending of the lattice planes. A low‐angle boundary model was developed to describe the effect of the groups of dislocations on the channeling contrast. Channeling and topography contrast were obtained from mesa structures present on the sample. Improvements in the sensitivity of the CSTIM method are discussed. The dislocations in the sample were initially characterized by transmission electron microscopy.

Ionizing radiation such as photons, keV electrons, or MeV ions can generate electron‐hole pairs in semiconducting material. The high penetrating power of MeV light ions allows them to generate electron‐hole pairs from deep within intact microelectronic devices, so images can be formed of the device active areas with very little degradation of the spatial resolution of the focused MeV ion beam. Furthermore, the ion‐beam‐induced charge (IBIC) image contrast is not strongly affected by the energy loss through the overlying device layers. This article is the first to demonstrate the capability of a nuclear microprobe to generate IBIC images of the active regions of devices through the passivation and metallization layers. The effect of the carrier generation volume on IBIC resolution is assessed. The ability of IBIC to align the major crystal axes of semiconductor samples is shown, and the effect of ion‐induced damage on IBIC image contrast is considered.

This letter demonstrates that ion channeling patterns, produced by the passage of 3 MeV protons through a 0.5 μm thick [001] silicon crystal, can be transported and manipulated to produce enlarged or reduced area patterns using magnetic quadrupole lenses. The different effects on the ion channeling patterns obtained by using single quadrupole lenses and quadrupole multiplets are shown. The maximum attainable magnification under present conditions is investigated and a fundamental limitation to this process is identified as being the energy spread gained by the proton beam as it passes through the crystal.

The recently developed ion beam induced charge technique has been used to image bands of misfit dislocations in a 4 μm thick epitaxial layer of Si 0.875Ge0.125 grown on a Si substrate. The smallest resolvable bandwidth is 0.8 μm under present conditions. The factors which presently limit this value, and methods for improving it are discussed.