Assessing the thickness of thin films based on elemental data composition of film structures

We demonstrate the possibility of a quantitative assessment of the thickness of thin films using to measurements of the cationic composition of film structures using the INCA Energy-350 energy dispersion spectrometer that is part of the JSM-6490 LV electron microscope (Japan). The use of this method is especially useful if it is impossible to provide sufficient contrast between the images of the film and substrate sections obtained with a scanning electron microscope on a transverse cleavage of the film structure.