Dark-field image contrast in transmission scanning electron microscopy: Effects of substrate thickness and detector collection angle

2016 ◽  
Vol 171 ◽  
pp. 166-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor Woehl ◽  
Robert Keller
Author(s):  
J. S. Shah ◽  
R. Durkin ◽  
A. N. Farley

It is now possible to perform High Pressure Scanning Electron Microscopy (HPSEM) in the range 10 to 2000 Pa. Here the effect of scattering on resolution has been evaluated by calculating the profile of the beam in high pressure and assessing its effect on the image contrast . An experimental scheme is presented to show that the effect of the primary beam ionization is to reduce image contrast but this effect can be eliminated by a novel use of specimen current detection in the presence of an electric field. The mechanism of image enhancement is discussed in terms of collection of additional carriers generated by the emissive components.High Pressure SEM (HPSEM) instrumentation is establishing itself as commercially viable. There are now a number of manufacturers, such as JEOL, ABT, ESCAN, DEBEN RESEARCH, selling microscopes and accessories for HPSEM. This is because high pressure techniques have begun to yield high quality micrographs at medium resolution.To study the effect of scattering on the incident electron beam, its profile - in a high pressure environment - was evaluated by calculating the elastic and inelastic scattering cross sections for nitrogen in the energy range 5-25 keV. To assess the effect of the scattered beam on the image contrast, the modification of a sharp step contrast function due to scattering was calculated by single scattering approximation and experimentally confirmed for a 20kV accelerated beam.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binay Patel ◽  
Masashi Watanabe

AbstractScanning transmission electron microscopy in scanning electron microscopy (STEM-in-SEM) is a convenient technique for soft materials characterization. Various specimen-holder geometries and detector arrangements have been used for bright-field (BF) STEM-in-SEM imaging. In this study, to further the characterization potential of STEM-IN-SEM, a new specimen holder has been developed to facilitate direct detection of BF signals and indirect detection of dark-field (DF) signals without the need for substantial instrument modification. DF imaging is conducted with the use of a gold (Au)-coated copper (Cu) plate attached to the specimen holder which directs highly scattered transmitted electrons to an off-axis yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG) detector. A hole in the copper plate allows for BF imaging with a transmission electron (TE) detector. The inclusion of an Au-coated Cu plate enhanced DF signal intensity. Experiments validating the acquisition of true DF signals revealed that atomic number (Z) contrast may be achieved for materials with large lattice spacing. However, materials with small lattice spacing still exhibit diffraction contrast effects in this approach. The calculated theoretical fine probe size is 1.8 nm. At 30 kV, in this indirect approach, DF spatial resolution is limited to 3.2 nm as confirmed experimentally.


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