Method of determining average crystallite size of material and apparatus and method for preparing thin film of the material

A method of determining an average crystallite size of a material having a crystal structure and exhibiting an absorption in ultraviolet region, which comprises irradiating a specimen of the material with an electron beam and observing an energy loss spectrum of reflected electrons,

• wherein the crystallite size of the material is within a range between 2 nm and several tens of nm.

A method of determining an average crystallite size of a material having a crystal structure and exhibiting an absorption in ultraviolet region, which comprises irradiating a specimen of the material with an electron beam and observing an energy loss spectrum of reflected electrons,

• wherein the specimen is in the shape of a thin film and the average crystallite size in an area of 1 μm and less square at a depth of not more than 10 nm from the surface of the thin film is measured.

A method of determining an average crystallite size of a material having a crystal structure and exhibiting an absorption in ultraviolet region, which comprises irradiating a specimen of the material with an electron beam and observing an energy loss spectrum of reflected electrons,

• wherein a relation between said average crystallite size of the material of the specimen and at least one of the following three characteristics observed in the reflected electron energy loss spectrum, (1) an energy value of a plasmon peak, (2) a relative intensity of the plasmon peak to an electric peak and (3) a profile of the background of the continuous spectra formed by inelastic electrons, is used to determine the crystallite size.

A method of determining an average crystallite size of a material having a crystal structure and exhibiting an absorption in ultraviolet region, which comprises irradiating a specimen of the material with an electron beam and observing an energy loss spectrum of reflected electrons,

• wherein a correlation of a profile of a background of a continuous spectrum formed by inelastic electrons observed in the reflected electron energy loss spectrum and/or a relative intensity of a point of an electric peak, and said average crystallite size of the material of the spectrum are used to determine the crystallite size.