Homogenization mechanism of the residual surface potential of insulating specimens under electron beam irradiation

Abstract

A homogenized surface potential is desirable for the observation of a pre-irradiated insulating specimen using a scanning electron microscope because the residual surface potential may affect the imaging properties of the specimen. To homogenize the residual surface potential, the specimen should be subjected to the irradiation of an electron beam with the total electron yield greater than one. The expression of the equilibrium potential is derived based on the charge balance condition in the equilibrium state and the potential value is found to increase mainly with the secondary electron (SE) yield and the most probable emission energy of SEs. Further numerical calculations of SE trajectories show that affected by different surface potentials, SEs leave or return to the specimen surface to change the net charge flux into the specimen. This thereby increases the surface potential below the equilibrium potential and decreases that above the equilibrium potential, homogenizing the surface potential.