ULTRAMICROTOMY - AN ALTERNATIVE CROSS-SECTION PREPARATION FOR OXIDIC THIN-FILMS ON GLASS

Ultra-thin cross sections of various oxidic thin films (TiO2, Ta2O5, SiO2, ZrO2, ITO) deposited on glass by reactive evaporation (RE), ion plating (IP), sputtering (SP) and plasma impulse chemical vapour deposition (PICVD) are prepared by ultramicrotomy (UM) and are investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The principles of UM and the relevant steps of pretreatment before cutting are reported, and the capability of UM is demonstrated on single layers and multilayer systems. Suitability and limitations of UM are outlined and common problems and artifacts are discussed. The results of the TEM investigations on technical oxidic thin films and the related interfaces are correlated with data obtained by other methods.