A method to prepare cross-sectional (X) semiconductor specimens for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been described. The power and utility of XTEM has been demonstrated. It has been shown that accuracy and interpretation of indirect structural-defects profiling techniques, namely, MeV He/sup +/ channeling and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) can be greatly enhanced by comparing their results with those obtained by XTEM from the same set of samples