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Improving SEM Imaging Performance Using Beam Deceleration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 June 2009

D. Phifer*
Affiliation:
FEI Company, 5350 NE Dawson Creek Drive, Hillsboro, OR 97124
L. Tuma
Affiliation:
FEI Company, 5350 NE Dawson Creek Drive, Hillsboro, OR 97124
T. Vystavel
Affiliation:
FEI Company, 5350 NE Dawson Creek Drive, Hillsboro, OR 97124
P. Wandrol
Affiliation:
FEI Company, 5350 NE Dawson Creek Drive, Hillsboro, OR 97124
R.J. Young
Affiliation:
FEI Company, 5350 NE Dawson Creek Drive, Hillsboro, OR 97124

Extract

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Beam Deceleration is a relatively simple method to reduce electron beam energy and improve imaging parameters such as resolution and contrast. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) uses a sharply focused electron beam to probe the specimen surface. The energy of the electrons forming such a probe is determined by the electrical potential of the electron source, referred to as accelerating voltage or high voltage (HV). No matter how many times the electrons are accelerated or decelerated inside the column, they leave the column with an energy corresponding to the high voltage. The high voltage is usually controllable within a range of 200 V to 30 kV for most commercially available SEMs, allowing the operator to select the electron beam energy suitable for the application. Imaging with very low electron beam energy has great importance, which is illustrated by SEM instrumentation development over the last few decades [1–2]. Low voltage microscopy is a topic discussed at most microscopy-related conferences these days, but generally, it is approached with an immersion lens and field emission gun (FEG) SEM system because of the better beam current densities. However, beam deceleration is also a means to bring low kV improvement to SEMs with thermionic electron sources.

Type
Instrumentation
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2009