Collection of secondary electrons in scanning electron microscopes

Collection of the secondary electrons in the scanning electron microscope was simulated and the results have been experimentally verified for two types of the objective lens and three detection systems. The aberration coefficients of both objective lenses as well as maximum axial magnetic fields in the specimen region are presented. Compared are a standard side‐attached secondary electron detector, in which only weak electrostatic and nearly no magnetic field influence the signal trajectories in the specimen vicinity, and the side‐attached (lower) and upper detectors in an immersion system with weak electrostatic but strong magnetic field penetrating towards the specimen. The collection efficiency was calculated for all three detection systems and several working distances. The ability of detectors to attract secondary electron trajectories for various initial azimuthal and polar angles was calculated, too. According to expectations, the lower detector of an immersion system collects no secondary electrons I and II emitted from the specimen and only backscattered electrons and secondary electrons III form the final image. The upper detector of the immersion system exhibits nearly 100% collection efficiency decreasing, however, with the working distance, but the topographical contrast is regrettably suppressed in its image. The collection efficiency of the standard detector is low for short working distances but increases with the same, preserving strong topographical contrast.     

Scintillation SE detector for variable pressure scanning electron microscopes

We present results obtained with a new scintillation detector of secondary electrons for the variable pressure scanning electron microscope. A detector design is based on the positioning of a single crystal scintillator within a scintillator chamber separated from the specimen chamber by two apertures. This solution enables us to decrease the pressure to several Pa in the scintillator chamber while the pressure in the specimen chamber reaches values of about 1000 Pa (7.5 Torr). Due to decreased pressure, we can apply a potential of the order of several kV to the scintillator, which is necessary for the detection of secondary electrons. Simultaneously, the two apertures at appropriate potentials of the order of several hundreds of volts create an electrostatic lens that allows electrons to pass from the specimen chamber to the scintillator chamber. Results indicate a promising utilization of this detector for a wide range of specimen observations.     

Energy distribution of electron backscattering from crystals and relation to electron backscattering patterns and electron channeling patterns

This paper reports on the influence of the channeling effect on the energy distribution of electrons backscattered from crystals with different atomic numbers Z. These results can be used for the optimization of the contrast of electron backscattering and electron channeling patterns. Energy and angular resolved electron scattering distributions are obtained using a 4-axial experimental setup with a moveable high-resolution spherical spectrometer. Special care is taken to suppress undesired reflections of electrons inside the spectrometer. This experimental setup allows the direct observation of the excitation of different Bloch waves (anomalous absorption and transmission) within the crystal for different electron incidence angles and the observation of angular distributions of elastically scattered electrons. Results are presented for Si and Au monocrystals, showing that the influence of the channeling effect is more distinct for low atomic numbers.     

Quantitative study of spurious X-ray production in thin film microanalysis

When X-ray microanalysis is performed in a TEM on a thin area of a specimen, some a priori indistinguishable spurious photons produced in other zones of this specimen are always recorded. Several mechanisms contribute to this production. For instance, some Bremsstrahlung and characteristic photons are generated by secondary and Auger electrons; a conservative upper bound to this particular contribution is calculated for several materials, and the present approach is compared to the Monte Carlo simulation. It is then shown that, in special test-specimens, the total extraneous contribution of the thick parts of the specimen to the spectra recorded in a thin zone can be measured; different instruments may now be compared in this respect. In the HB5 STEM, this total contribution remains low; its main cause is beam scattering in the specimen, not before it. Finally, an experimental procedure for estimating this bulk contribution in any specimen of interest is proposed. Calculations and experiments are illustrated for the case of gallium arsenide.     

Multiple scattering effects of MeV electrons in very thick amorphous specimens

Multiple scattering has an important influence on the analysis of microns-thick specimens with MeV electrons. In this paper, we report on effects of multiple scattering of MeV electrons on electron transmission and imaging of tilted and thick amorphous film specimens by experiment and theoretical analysis. Electron transmission for microns-thick epoxy-resin and SiO₂ specimens calculated by the multiple elastic-scattering theory is in good agreement with measurements in the ultrahigh voltage electron microscope (ultra-HVEM) at Osaka University. Electron transmission and electron energy are then presented in an approximate power law. The bright-field ultra-HVEM images of gold particles on the top or bottom surfaces of 5 and 15 μm thick specimens further illustrate the effect of multiple scattering on image quality. The observed top‐bottom effect for the very thick specimens appears to be mainly caused by multiple elastic scattering. With increase in the accelerating voltage from 1 to 2 MV, image blurring, contrast, the signal-to-noise ratio, and the top‐bottom effect are improved because of reduction in the influence of multiple scattering. However, the effect of specimen thickness on image blurring is shown to be stronger than that of accelerating voltage. At the 2 MV accelerating voltage, the 100 nm gold particle can be imaged with less blurring of ∼4 nm when located at the bottom surface of a 15 μm thick epoxy-resin specimen.     

A spectroscopic scanning electron microscope design

This paper describes a proposal to improve the design of scanning electron microscopes (SEMs). The design is based upon using an SEM column similar to the conventional one, magnetic sector plates and a mixed field immersion objective lens. The optical axis of the SEM column lies in the horizontal direction and the primary beam is turned through 90 degrees before it reaches the specimen. This arrangement allows for the efficient collection, detection and spectral analysis of the scattered electrons on a hemispherical surface that is located well away from the rest of the SEM column. The proposed SEM design can also be easily extended to incorporate time multiplexed columns and multi-column arrays.     

Scanning reflection electron microscopy of surface topography by diffusely scattered electrons in the scanning electron microscope

In this paper, the technique of scanning reflection electron microscopy (SREM) by diffusely scattered electrons in the scanning electron microscope is described in detail. A qualitative account of the formation of image contrast in SREM is also described. It is assumed that, for grazing geometry, forward-scattered electrons reflect from regions close to the surface, following a few scattering events within the first few atomic layers, and lose very little energy in the process. The penetration depth of the primary electrons is very limited, resulting in strongly peaked envelopes of forward-scattered electrons. It is also assumed that a surface containing topographic features presents a range of tilt angles, resulting in different reflection coefficients. Tilt contrast results because each facet has a different scattering yield, which is dependent upon local surface inclination. Full details of the instrumentation designed for SREM are described, and to illustrate the technique, results recorded from an epitaxial GaAs on GaAs crystal, Pb₂(Zr,Ta)O₆ thin film on silicon, and SiO₂ amorphous film on silicon are presented.     

New scintillation detector of backscattered electrons for the low voltage SEM

The new scintillation detector of backscattered electrons that is capable of working at primary beam energy as low as 0.5 keV is introduced. Low energy backscattered electrons are accelerated in order to generate a sufficient number of photons. Secondary electrons are deflected back by the energy filter so that the true compositional contrast of the specimen is obtained. The theoretical models of the detector function are described and first demonstration images are presented.     

Application of the low-loss scanning electron microscope image to integrated circuit technology. Part 1--Applications to accurate dimension measurements

Scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) are the most extensively used tools for dimensional metrology and defect inspection for integrated circuit technologies with 180 nm and smaller features. Currently, almost all SEMs are designed to collect as many secondary and backscattered electrons as possible. These signals are mainly secondary electrons (SE1, SE2, and SE3) detected with various detection schemes. To facilitate the electron collection, very strong electric and magnetic fields are applied not just in the path of the primary electron beam but to the emerging electrons as well. These new systems provide strong signals, thus better signal-to-noise ratio, and thus resulting in higher throughput than older ones. On the other hand, the use of secondary electrons means that measurement results are much more prone to the detrimental effects of electron beam interactions, sample charging, and sample contamination than measurements with higher-energy backscattered electrons. The use of backscattered electrons, especially low-loss electrons (LLE), can provide better surface sensitivity, edge accuracy, and repeatability, possibly at the expense of measurement speed. This two-part study investigates the benefits and drawbacks of low-loss electron imaging to edge characterization for dimensional metrology and enhancement of fine surface features done through filtration or separation of the generated LLE signal and the use of energy-dependent signals. Part 1 reviews and illustrates the potential for accurate dimensional measurements at low accelerating voltage by LLE, and Part 2 will concentrate on the enhancement of surface features in chemical-mechanically planarized specimens with the use of a novel LLE detector.     

An anomalous contrast in scanning electron microscopy of insulators: the pseudo-mirror effect

In a scanning electron microscope, electron-beam irradiation of insulators may induce a strong electric field due to the trapping of charges within the specimen interaction volume. On one hand, this field modifies the trajectories of the beam of electrons subsequently entering the specimen, resulting in reduced penetration depth into the bulk specimen. On the other hand, it leads to the acceleration in the vacuum of the emitted secondary electrons (SE) and also to a strong distortion of their angular distribution. Among others, the consequences concern an anomalous contrast in the SE image. This contrast is due to the so-called pseudo-mirror effect. The aim of this work is first to report the observation of this anomalous contrast, then to give an explanation of this effect, and finally to discuss the factors affecting it. Practical consequences such as contrast interpretations will be highlighted.     

A combination of topographical contrast and stereoscopy for the reconstruction of surface topographies in SEM

The reconstruction of three-dimensional surface topographies can be done in two principally different ways: conventional stereoscopy and ‘shape from shading’. In conventional stereoscopy the depth information is obtained from two perspective views of the specimen. For that, perspectively corresponding features have to be identified in both views to determine depth from perspective shift. Conventional stereoscopy normally results in a relatively sparse set of irregularly distributed points whose elevations are known precisely. The shape-from-shading approach determines the local surface orientation from the local surface luminosity. Over a limited range of surface inclinations the emission of secondary (SE) and back-scattered (BSE) electrons depends uniquely on the angle between electron beam and local surface normal of the specimen. Shape from shading uses this relationship to determine the surface normal with multiple detectors mounted in different take-off directions. Contrary to conventional stereoscopy shape from shading yields depth information from each surface point, but this method is less accurate than stereoscopy. In this paper we propose a combination of both approaches, in which the dense, but less accurate results from shape from shading are used to fill the gaps in the sparsely distributed, but very accurately known, depth information obtained from stereoscopy.     

Exposure level and image quality in electron micrographs

Single electrons of the energies used in transmission electron micrography can render developable one or more emulsion grains. From this fact the following deductions can be made.

• (a). Photographic contrast in an electron micrograph is a function of the mean density only.
• (b). The signal/noise ratio in an electron micrograph improves with increasing exposure, irrespective of the means adopted to enable an increased exposure to be used.
• (c). If the exposure of the specimen is limited to some maximum then the visibility of noise-limited detail in prints representing a given total magnification is independent of the negative material used in the microscope.

Experimental tests based largely on electron micrographs are presented which provide good support for these deductions. It is generally concluded that the behaviour patterns examined in this work should always be considered when limitations are being encountered in the image quality of electron micrographs.     

Influence of the angular distribution of backscattered electrons on signals at different take-off angles in low-voltage scanning electron microscopy (LVSEM)

It is well known that the differential Mott cross section for large-angle elastic scattering shows maxima and minima at angles depending on material and electron energy. For electron energies of 10–30 keV, the averaging by frequent elastic scattering processes results in approximate Lambert angular distributions of backscattered electrons (BSE). However, the present Monte Carlo calculations for electron energies E = 1–5 keV and different angles of incidence show strong deviations from a Lambert distribution which increases with decreasing energy. The signals of the BSE detector with five annular segments for different take-off directions show good agreement with the calculations for normal electron incidence.     

Effects of the introduction of the discrete energy loss process into Monte Carlo simulation of electron scattering

First, the single scattering model is briefly described. Next, the hybrid model is explained, which takes into consideration a part of the discrete energy loss processes. The Vriens or the Gryzinski cross section is used for core electron ionizations, and the Moller cross section for free electron excitations. The model is applied to the calculations of the energy distribution of transmitted electrons through a thin film and the depth distribution of generated x-rays. From comparisons among the calculated results with and without energy straggling and experimental data, it is found that the Gryzinski cross section shows the best result.     

Experimental data and model simulations of beam spread in the environmental scanning electron microscope

This work describes the comparison of experimental measurements of electron beam spread in the environmental scanning electron microscope with model predictions. Beam spreading is the result of primary electrons being scattered out of the focused beam by interaction with gas molecules in the low-vacuum specimen chamber. The scattered electrons form a skirt of electrons around the central probe. The intensity of the skirt depends on gas pressure in the chamber, beam-gas path length, beam energy, and gas composition. A model has been independently developed that, under a given set of conditions, predicts the radial intensity distribution of the scattered electrons. Experimental measurements of the intensity of the beam skirt were made under controlled conditions for comparison with model predictions of beam skirting. The model predicts the trends observed in the experimentally determined scattering intensities; however, there does appear to be a systematic deviation from the experimental measurements.     

Application of channel electron multipliers in an electron detector for low‐voltage scanning electron microscopy

An electron detector containing channel electron multipliers was built and tested in the range of low‐voltage scanning electron microscopy as a detector of topographic contrast. The detector can detect backscattered electrons or the sum of backscattered electrons and secondary electrons, with different amount of secondary electrons. As a backscattered electron detector it collects backscattered electrons emitted in a specific range of take‐off angles and in a large range of azimuth angles enabling to obtain large solid collection angle and high collection efficiency. Two arrangements with different channel electron multipliers were studied theoretically with the use of the Monte Carlo method and one of them was built and tested experimentally. To shorten breaks in operation, a vacuum box preventing channel electron multipliers from an exposure to air during specimen exchanges was built and placed in the microscope chamber. The box is opened during microscope observations and is moved to the side of the scanning electron microscope chamber and closed during air admission and evacuation cycles enabling storing channel electron multipliers under vacuum for the whole time. Experimental tests of the detector included assessment of the type of detected electrons (secondary or backscattered), checking the tilt contrast, imaging the spatial collection efficiency, measuring the noise coefficient and recording images of different specimens.     

A high signal-to-noise ratio toroidal electron spectrometer for the SEM

This paper presents a high signal-to-noise ratio electron energy spectrometer attachment for the scanning electron microscope (SEM), designed to measure changes in specimen surface potential from secondary electrons and extract specimen atomic number information from backscattered electrons. Experimental results are presented, which demonstrate that the spectrometer can in principle detect specimen voltage changes well into the sub-mV range, and distinguish close atomic numbers by a signal-to-noise ratio of better than 20. The spectrometer has applications for quantitatively mapping specimen surface voltage and atomic number variations on the nano-scale.     

Comparison of different models for the generation of electron backscattering patterns in the scanning electron microscope

An electron backscattering pattern (EBSP) is formed on a fluorescent (or other) screen from the faster scattered electrons when a single-crystal region of a solid sample is illuminated by a finely focused electron beam (EB). The EBSP is very similar in appearance to the electron channeling pattern (ECP) that is obtained in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) by rocking the beam about a point on the surface of a single crystal. It has been suggested that the mechanisms that give rise to EBSP and ECP are related by reciprocity. If this is indeed the case, then the models that are used to explain them should be the same except for the direction in which the electrons travel through the specimen. The two-event “diffraction model” for EBSP (diffuse scattering followed by diffraction) fails this condition, leading to the conclusion that the “channeling in and channeling out” model for EBSP is more likely to be correct. This has been described rigorously by Reimer (1979, 1985). It is named after the title used by Joy (1994). An attempt is made here to describe this model in a simple way.     

The contribution of phonon scattering to high-resolution images measured by off-axis electron holography

The contribution of electrons that have been phonon scattered to the lattice fringe amplitude and the background intensity of a high-resolution electron microscope (HREM) image is addressed experimentally through the analysis of a defocus series of energy-filtered off-axis electron holograms. It is shown that at a typical specimen thickness used for HREM imaging approximately 15% of the electrons that contribute to an energy-filtered image have been phonon scattered. At this specimen thickness, the phonon-scattered electrons contribute a lattice image of opposite contrast to the elastic lattice image. The overall lattice fringe contrast is then reduced to 70% of the value that it would have in the absence of phonon scattering. At higher specimen thickness, the behaviour is defocus-dependent, with the phonon image having lattice fringe contrast of either the same or the opposite sense to the elastic image as the defocus is varied.