Extraction of topographic and material contrasts on surfaces from SEM images obtained by energy filtering detection with low-energy primary electrons

Nagoshi, Masayasu; Aoyama, Tomohiro; Sato, Kaoru

doi:10.1016/j.ultramic.2012.08.011

Cited by 24 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…[3] This was verified from the systematic experiments using an IL-type detector with an energy-filtering system. [4] Some of the latest high-end SEMs have more than three electron detectors. The complex multi-detector systems in such instruments have made it hard to understand the contrast formation mechanisms in the SEM images.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simple separations of topographic and material contrasts using one annular type in‐lens detector of low‐voltage SEM

Nagoshi¹,

Kawano²,

Sato³

2015

Surface & Interface Analysis

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Contrasts of low-voltage secondary electron microscope images have been experimentally investigated using commercial instruments having an annular type in-lens (IL) detector. The topographic and material contrasts of oxide particles on steel surfaces in the secondary electron microscope images recorded by the IL and the Everhart-Thonley detectors systematically change as a function of working distance. It is found that these two contrasts are divided using the different concentric areas of the IL detector surface. These results are discussed in terms of the kinetic energy of the detected electrons. Two simple methods for the information selection using one IL-type detector are proposed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simple separations of topographic and material contrasts using one annular type in‐lens detector of low‐voltage SEM

Nagoshi¹,

Kawano²,

Sato³

2015

Surface & Interface Analysis

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“…Positive charging reduces yield of emitted electrons with the kinetic energy of less than a few electron-volts [2], the material contrast due to the positive charging appears only in the IL detector image as shown in Fig.1 (b). After understanding such information-selection mechanisms, namely selective detections of emitted electrons, we can extract specific information by controlling observation parameters such as working distance (WD) [15] and energy filtering [16].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-Voltage Scanning Electron Microscopy as a Tool for Surface Imaging and Analysis of Practical Materials

Nagoshi¹,

Sato²,

Aoyama³

2017

JSA

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Low-voltage scanning electron microscopy (LV-SEM), imaging and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis, have been applied to steel surfaces in order to clarify the performance of these techniques as a surface analysis. The information depth of LV-SEM imaging is limited by the penetration range of primary electrons. The range also limits the information depth of LV-SEM-EDX analysis. These situations are quite different from those of surface analysis techniques such as Auger electron microscopy in which the escape depth of signal electrons determines the information depth. The information depths of both LV-SEM imaging and LV-SEM-EDX analysis are an order of 10 nm for the primary electron energy of around 1 keV. We can obtain topographic, material, and elemental information from such shallow region of material surfaces with high spatial resolution. This shows that the techniques are applicable to surface analysis of practical materials although the information depth is still deeper by one order than those of the conventional surface analysis techniques.

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“…The E–T detector can be either used for through‐column detection or for collecting SEs from the specimen chamber, but not simultaneously for both, whereas in‐column detectors and an E–T detector can be simultaneously used without any image shift. Simultaneous acquisition of images from the exactly same specimen area with different detectors is beneficial to using image manipulation to extract topographic and composition contrast (Nagoshi et al ., ). An in‐column BSE detector can be placed into an electron optical column without using beam deceleration.…”

Section: Recent Advances In Semmentioning

confidence: 97%

Information or resolution: Which is required from an SEM to study bulk inorganic materials?

Xing

2016

Scanning

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Significant technological advances in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been achieved over the past years. Different SEMs can have significant differences in functionality and performance. This work presents the perspectives on selecting an SEM for research on bulk inorganic materials. Understanding materials demands quantitative composition and orientation information, and informative and interpretable images that reveal subtle differences in chemistry, orientation/structure, topography, and electronic structure. The capability to yield informative and interpretable images with high signal-to-noise ratios and spatial resolutions is an overall result of the SEM system as a whole, from the electron optical column to the detection system. The electron optical column determines probe performance. The roles of the detection system are to capture, filter or discriminate, and convert signal electrons to imaging information. The capability to control practical operating parameters including electron probe size and current, acceleration voltage or landing voltage, working distance, detector selection, and signal filtration is inherently determined by the SEM itself. As a platform for various accessories, e.g. an energy-dispersive spectrometer and an electron backscatter diffraction detector, the properties of the electron optical column, specimen chamber, and stage greatly affect the performance of accessories. Ease-of-use and ease-of-maintenance are of practical importance. It is practically important to select appropriate test specimens, design suitable imaging conditions, and analyze the specimen chamber geometry and dimensions to assess the overall functionality and performance of an SEM. For an SEM that is controlled/operated with a computer, the stable software and user-friendly interface significantly improve the usability of the SEM. SCANNING 38:864-879, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

show abstract

Extraction of topographic and material contrasts on surfaces from SEM images obtained by energy filtering detection with low-energy primary electrons

Cited by 24 publications

References 10 publications

Simple separations of topographic and material contrasts using one annular type in‐lens detector of low‐voltage SEM

Simple separations of topographic and material contrasts using one annular type in‐lens detector of low‐voltage SEM

Low-Voltage Scanning Electron Microscopy as a Tool for Surface Imaging and Analysis of Practical Materials

Information or resolution: Which is required from an SEM to study bulk inorganic materials?

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