Changes of cathodoluminescence emission from MgO in the scanning electron microscope

The effect of electron beam on the cathodoluminescence (CL) from MgO single crystals has been studied in the scanning electron microscope. It has been found that CL intensity and spectrum vary with irradiation time. The behaviour is discussed in terms of impurities and vacancy defects.     

A digital scanning Auger electron microscope

A new instrument, a scanning Auger microscope with digital scanning and a concentric hemispherical analyser, is described together with some preliminary demonstration results. The sample, a titanium ribbon, was hand polished and resistively heated. After a short heating to remove some of the overlay carbon and oxygen, the sample showed some irregular areas of very low SEM contrast which were attributed to calcium from the L_{2, 3}VV Auger process at 288 eV. Using this calcium peak a scanning Auger map of the areas showed high contrast and the corresponding titanium Auger maps demonstrate that this indeed was an overlayer of calcium. The probe resolution was 50 nm and a single picture was produced in 3 min.     

Micromachining of diamond with a near-field scanning optical microscope

Direct-write laser micromachining of diamond on a submicrometer scale with a near-field scanning optical microscope with an uncoated tapered fiber tip has been demonstrated. Micromachined structures can be imaged in situ immediately after modification of the sample. An early stage of the ablation process, which is believed to be conversion of diamond into graphite, has been visualized.     

Spectral and kinetic characteristics of the pulsed cathodoluminescence of a natural IIa-type diamond

Emission spectra and decay kinetics of pulsed cathodoluminescence of a natural IIa-type diamond sample are investigated in the spectral range 340–680 nm. The luminescence of the vibronic N3-system and band A are observed. The N3-system is dominant on a nanosecond scale and has a 415.2-nm zero-phonon line with phonon replicas in the range 430–460 nm. The decay time for the N3 system is found to be 30–50 ns. Structureless band A is observed on a millisecond scale; it has a maximum at 460 nm and a decay time of 8.5–8.8 ms. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 1, pp. 53–57, January, 2007.     

Quantitative analysis of thin-film conductivity by scanning microwave microscope

We propose a novel method for high-throughput quantitative analysis of thin-film conductivity σ by using a scanning microwave microscope (SμM). We demonstrated that composition spread thin films of Ti_1-xNb_xO₂ can be utilized as a standard reference in a wide σ range. The shift in Q-value measured by SμM along the composition-spread axis showed a single peak, which moved to the lower x side with film thickness. This behavior was confirmed by electrical field simulation using the finite element method.     

Electroluminescence of diamond films induced by a scanning tunneling microscope

We report the scanning tunneling microscope induced band-A emission from boron-doped polycrystalline diamond films fabricated by chemical-vapor deposition (CVD). The broad blue emission occurs at a bias above ±3.4 V with double peaks at 410 and 450 nm and is attributed to the dislocation-related defect centers. Greatly enhanced green emissions around 530 nm are observed at high positive bias. This, together with strongly bias- and polarity-dependent emission intensities and spectra, leads us to propose that the boost in the green emission at high bias is probably related to the minority electron injection into the boron-related acceptor states in the subsurface.     

Measurements of scan nonlinearity in a scanning electron microscope

A method for measuring the scan nonlinearity of a scanning electron microscope is discussed. This method is tested using a mass-produced microscope and demonstrates good results.     

掺杂半导体扫描电镜二次电子像

综述了用扫描电镜的二次电子像获得掺杂半导体衬度剖析的方法．实验发现掺杂半导体扫描电镜像对杂质浓度的灵敏度可以达到1016cm^-3，且空间分辨率高达nm量级，是最有可能发展成为下一代掺杂剖析成像的主流技术．文中还探讨了半导体掺杂衬度的可能的机理，详细介绍了两种主要机理：表面能带弯曲和样品外局域电场的出现．     

Application of a scanning electron microscope in simulating a beta-emission-induced current

The current induced by emission from a thin ⁶³Ni layer is simulated with allowance for the real spectrum of ejected electrons and their angular distribution in Si and GaN. The calculated results are compared with simulation data obtained for a monoenergetic electron beam perpendicular to the semiconductor detector. For both Si and GaN, the ratio between the currents induced by the SEM beam and β emission from ⁶³Ni is demonstrated to be almost completely independent of the diffusion length, if the electron-beam energy of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) is appropriately selected.     

Nanomanipulator-assisted fabrication and characterization of carbon nanotubes inside scanning electron microscope

We have installed two nanomanipulators, which can travel about 20mm with a minimum increment of 1 nm, for manipulation of nanostructured materials inside field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Both manipulators render motions in x, y, and z directions, providing various manipulation freedoms such as moving, bending, cutting, and biasing. In addition, we have conducted in situ characterization of the electrical breakdown of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Our results demonstrate the possibility that MWCNTs can be used as a gas sensor.     

Field emission of individual carbon nanotubes in the scanning electron microscope

The field emission of individual multiwall carbon nanotubes grown by chemical vapor deposition was measured in a scanning electron microscope. By using a sharp anode, we were able to select one nanotube for measurements in carefully controlled conditions. Single nanotubes follow the Fowler-Nordheim law, and the dependence of the field enhancement with interelectrode distance and nanotube radius is in good agreement with the recent model of Edgcombe and Valdré. Our results suggest that only nanotubes with the highest field enhancement factors, i.e., at least 8x higher than those of the average nanotube population, contribute to the emitted current in usual large area measurements.     

Signal generation in an isotropic medium in scanning electron acoustic microscope

Based on the research in Ref. [5][Materials Science and Engineering, 1989; A122： 57 63], an improved model of heat source is set up, the different modes of Lamb wave in an isotropic sample generated by a chopped electron beam at frequency f are obtained with integral transform and normal function expansion method, and the output signal of PZT coupled at the back surface of the sample is found out. The generation mechanism of SEAM （Scanning Electron Acoustic Microscopy） signal is discussed. It shows that the SEAM is a near field imaging technique with high spatial resolution and its best lateral spatial resolution is about 2√2α （α is the radius of the focused electron beam）. Some of experimental results of SEAM images are presented in the paper and it shows that the spatial resolution of SEAM is better than 0.5 μm and smaller than the thermal diffusion length of the sample. Therefore the character of near field imaging in SEAM is also proved experimentally.     

各向同性媒质中的扫描电子声显微镜的信号激发

在前期研究(声学学报;1991;16(3):161—169)的基础上,建立了改进的热源分布模型。利用积分变换和特征函数展开法,求解了强度简谐调制的电子束源在各向同性试样中所激发的各种Lamb波模式,以及耦合在试样背面的压电片的电压输出,并分析了扫描电子声显微镜(SEAM)的信号激发机理。结果表明SEAM是一种高分辨率的近场成像技术,它的最佳横向空间分辨率为22~(1/2)倍的电子束焦斑半径。实验结果表明SEAM的空间分辨率可优于0.5μm,小于试样的热扩散长度,从实验上证实了理论预计的SEAM的近场成像特征。     

Real-time manipulation of gold nanoparticles inside a scanning electron microscope

The forces needed to overcome static friction and move 150 nm diameter Au nanoparticles on an oxidized Si substrate were measured in Normal and Shear oscillation modes inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) in real time. The experimental setup consisted of a quartz tuning fork (QTF) mounted onto a high-precision 3D nanomanipulator used with a glued silicon or tungsten tip as a force sensor. Static friction was found to range from tens of nN to several hundred nN. Large variations in static friction values were related to differences in particle shape. Kinetic friction tended to be close to the detection limit and in most cases did not exceed several nN. The influence of thermal treatment in reducing the static friction of nanoparticles was considered.     

基于扫描电子显微镜的碳纳米管拾取操作方法研究

碳纳米管场效应管是未来纳米器件的发展方向,而制造纳米器件的前提是拾取碳纳米管,基于扫描电子显微镜(SEM)的微纳机器人操作系统能够实现碳纳米管拾取操作.本文建立拾取操作中碳纳米管与原子力显微镜(AFM)探针间范德瓦耳斯力力学模型,不同接触状态下范德瓦耳斯力越大越有利于拾取碳纳米管.在SEM视觉反馈图像中建立相对坐标系,首先提出倾角变值方法检测碳纳米管与AFM探针的接触状态,然后运用动态差值方法识别碳纳米管与AFM探针空间位姿并校正碳纳米管位姿,最后自下而上拾取碳纳米管.实验结果表明:拟合直线倾角变值较大时碳纳米管与AFM探针发生接触,动态差值变化为零时碳纳米管与AFM探针为空间线接触,在完全线接触模型下选择合适的接触角度、接触长度和拾取速度能够成功拾取碳纳米管.