Quantification of strain through linear dichroism in the Si 1s edge X-ray absorption spectra of strained Si1−x Ge x thin films

We have quantitatively measured the angle dependence in the Silicon 1s X-ray absorption spectra of strained Si1−x Ge x thin films prepared by epitaxial growth on Si(100) substrates, through surface sensitive total electron yield detection. The linear dichroism difference extracted from these angle dependent X-ray absorption spectra is proportional to the degree of strain, as measured separately by Raman spectroscopy. This quantitative …