Examination of local structure of composite and low dimension semiconductor with X-ray absorption spectroscopy

X-ray absorption methods have been successfully used to obtain quantitative information about the local atomic composition of two different materials. X-ray absorption near-edge structure analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy have allowed us to determine seven chemical compounds and their concentrations in a c-BN composite. The use of extended X-ray absorption Fine Structure in combination with transmission electron microscopy has enabled us to determine the composition and size of buried Ge quantum dots. It has been found that the quantum dots consisted of pure Ge cores covered by 1-2 monolayers of an Si-rich layer. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.