Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
SEM?
A small probe size
High beam current
A mechanically
stable microscope
and a quiet lab
environment
A skilled operator
Lens performance
The probe size is determined by the
aberrations of the lens
The magnitude of the aberrations vary
with the focal length of the lens - which is
about equal to the working distance
Some lens designs are more capable than
others at combining both high
performance and good sample access
Pinhole Lens
The original SEM lens designed to produce no
magnetic field in the
sample chamber
Good sample access
Long focal length and a
big working distance so
high aberrations
Poor EM screening
Asymmetric SE
collection due to
position of ET
ET
sample
Immersion Lens
Short focal length so low aberrations
Good EM screening
Very stable specimen
mounting in lens
Symmetric SE
collection using the
through the lens
(TTL) detector system
Restricted to small
samples (3mm disc)
det
magnetic
field
Snorkel Lens
Short focal length so low aberrations
and high
performance
Good EM screening
The sample is
outside the lens so
there is no
limitation on the
size of the specimen
TTL
Magnetic field
projected out
of lens
ET
S4700 detector
Snorkel lens permits multiple
detectors to be used
In-lens (TTL) detector gives a
shadow free image with ultrahigh topographical
resolution. Super efficient
Lower (ET) detector gives SE
images with material contrast
information and high
efficiency at high tilt angles
These detectors can be used
separately or combined as
desired for maximum
flexibility
Snorkel lenses allow multiple detectors
Detector Flexibility
Working Distance
Working distance is the
most important user
controlled parameter
Always use the
smallest WD that is
possible for a given
specimen
Note also that the
image resolution is
almost independent of
the beam energy
Microanalysis
Imaging
Beam current
Typical contrast levels
are 3-10% on most
samples
Improving contrast
lowers required IB ,
beam current, and
improves resolution
Increase IB by raising
the tip emission
current from 10A to
20 or 30 A if
necessary
Resolution
The pixel size is
equal to the CRT
pixel size divided
by the actual
magnification e.g a
100m pixel at
100x gives 1m
resolution
Probe size only
limits resolution at
high magnifications
Image Content
SE1 - high
resolution
SE2 - low (BSE)
resolution
SE3 - tertiary
signal, interactions
of the BSE with the
pole piece and
chamber walls
ET sees 40% SE3,
45% SE2, 15% SE1
TTL sees 75% SE2
and 25% SE1
SE1
TTL
SE2
Lens
Detector
ET
BSE
SE2
SE escape
SE1
SE3
SE2
area
pixel
Medium magnification
Medium
magnification
images have a
resolution limited
by SE2 interaction
volume
SE and BSE images
will look similar
but not necessarily
identical
Image at 20kx - 50
pixels
Field of view is
about size of the SE2
interaction volume so
that signal remains
about constant as
beam scans
The pixel size is
about equal with the
SE1 area so the SE1
component now
provides the image
detail
field of view
Pixels - a summary
High resolution requires the use of a high
magnification to keep the pixel size at a
small enough value not to limit the
resolution
High resolution at high beam energies
also requires a high magnification so as to
separate the SE1 signal from the lower
resolution SE2 signal
SE resolution
The diffusion effect is visible at the
edges of a sample as the bright
white line' due to extra SE emission
The width of this line is a measure
of the SE MFP
The presence of this SE1 edge effect
sets an initial limit to the achievable
SE image resolution
SE diffusion volume
Width =
20nm
10 nm
width =
5 nm
Particle contrast
Lattice fringes
In this image by Kuroda et al
(J.Elect.Micro 34,179, 1985)
fringe structures with a
spacing of 1.4nm are clearly
visible in the SE image
This resolution is consistent
with the diffusion model for
SE production with =1nm
Image recorded at 20keV on
an Hitachi S-900 FEGSEM
The probe size for this
image was about 0.9nm
Surface
Configuration
In other samples...
When an object gets
small enough to be
comparable with
then it becomes
bright all over and
the defining edges
disappear.
For low Z, low
density materials,
this can happen at a
scale of 5-10nm
edge brightness
no edges
Carbon nanotubes
Particulate Coatings
Au produces very big
particles (30nm)
Au/Pd and W make
much smaller (3nm)
particles
These have a very high
SE yield
Can be deposited in a
sputter coater
Coatings are stable
Good below 100kx
Decoration
In some cases the
sputtered particles
decorate active
features on a
structure, making
them more visible
High Z materials,
such as tungsten
also permit BSE
imaging
High SE
yield
Low SE
yield
S
E
bulk value
Y
i
e
l
d
mass thickness
variation
1nm
2nm
Film thickness
3nm
SE
Beam position
SE profile without metal
Cr coatings
Cr films are smooth and
without structure even at
thicknesses as low as 1nm
The mass thickness contrast
resolves edges and make
the detail visible down to a
nanometer scale
The high SE yield of the Cr
improves the S/N ratio
However these coatings are
not stable - so use Cr
coated samples immediately
after they have been made
Coating Summary
Coatings are an essential part of the technique of
high resolution SEM because they generate
interpretable contrast, improve resolution, and
enhance the S/N ratio
Thin coatings are better than thick coatings - do not
make your sample a piece of jewelry
Below 100kx particulate coatings are superior
because of higher SE yields
Above 100kx use chromium or titanium
MRC lab uses Au/Pd coatings on most samples
Carbon is a contaminant not a coating
Clean Power
Many cases of
jaggies are due to
dirty mains lines
not EM pickup
Check waveform at
your wall plug
Use clean power
from a UPS for
critical electronics
Avoids surges
zero
crossings
AC line
and
EM Field
raster is
synchronized
with field
switching spikes
zero
crossings
raster is now
not synchronized
with field
Operating tips
Allow the SEM to thermally stabilize
and the cold finger to cool down
before attempting high resolution this may take > 1 hour (seldom used
at MRC)
Use the stage lock - but dont forget
to turn it off before unloading sample
Use the beam shift rather than stage
motion - but remember to recenter the
beam before taking a critical image
Look for the scan speed which
minimizes jaggies when viewing the
image live
32 high speed
frames
single 20
second scan