Characterization of individual threading dislocations in GaN using ballistic electron emission microscopy

Threading dislocations (TDs) of molecular beam epitaxy grown GaN film were studied with ultrahigh vacuum ballistic electron emission microscopy in order to quantify any fixed negative charge at identifiable TDs, with approximately 3 nm spatial and approximately 10 meV local barrier resolution. In contrast to several prior studies, we find no indication of fixed negative dislocation charge at specific TD structures, with a conservative upper limit of approximately 0.25 e(-) per c-axis unit cell. We do observe evidence of positive surface charge at TDs and at GaN step edges, which may be due to local piezoelectric fields.     

Dose-limited spectroscopic imaging of soft materials by low-loss EELS in the scanning transmission electron microscope

Spectroscopic imaging in the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) using spatially resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) provides one of the few ways to quantitatively measure the real-space nanoscale morphology of soft materials such as polymers and biological tissue. This paper describes the basic principles of this technique and outlines some of the important attributes that define the achievable spatial resolution. Many soft materials can be differentiated from each other as well as from solvents based on their EELS fingerprints. Applying a multiple least squares (MLS) fitting algorithm using such spectral fingerprints to analyze spatially resolved spectrum datasets enables the quantitative mapping of the different components in a specimen. However, in contrast to TEM studies of many inorganic materials where the spatial resolution is limited principally by the spherical aberration of the objective lens, the spatial resolution associated with the imaging of radiation-sensitive soft materials is limited by the total electron dose to which they can be exposed before suffering irrevocable chemical or structural damage. The Rose criterion provides a simple guide to enhance the so-called dose-limited spatial resolution relevant to soft-materials imaging. By using the low-loss portion of an EELS spectrum where the inelastic scattering cross-sections are highest together with improvements in data-collection efficiency and post-acquisition data processing, the dose-limited resolution in spectrum images of solvated polymers has moved into the sub 10nm regime. This resolution is sufficient to solve important applications-oriented problems associated with hetero interfaces, nanoscale mixing, and nanophase separation.     

A new type of scanning electron microscope using the coaxial backscattered electrons

A new coaxial detection system for backscattered electrons in SEM is described. This coaxial detection system allows us to collect only the backscattered electrons that have lost a small percentage of the primary energy, emerging from the sample surface with a take-off angle defined by the objective lens. This new configuration reinforces the atomic-number contrast and suppresses effectively the topographic contrast. The simulation and experimental results confirm these expectations: this new type of SEM is very suitable for observing differences in atomic number. Moreover, by associating the obtained image with a conventional secondary electron image, we build a third (color) image that allows us to give finally at the same time, in a single image, both of the chemical and topographic information.     

Beam analysis of scanning electron microscope according to the mirror effect phenomenon

In a scanning electron microscope the influence of electronic beam parameters on the electron-mirror images has been investigated. A simple theoretical model for scanning electron beam behavior in terms of beam and surface potentials is presented. The derived expression relates the scanning beam parameters and parameters of an irradiation region. Influence of a beam (the size and current), scanning potential, working distance, trapped charge and the irradiated area on electron mirror images are defined. Results show that the electron beam current has a considerable effect on the deduced mirror images in comparison with the other beam parameters. So it could be adapted for adjusting the phenomena of mirror effect. Moreover, the trapped charges have been calculated and the results examined in comparison with experimental data.     

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．     

Numerical analysis for verifying the performance of lens system in a scanning electron microscope

This work presents an analysis of the lens system in a thermionic scanning electron microscope (SEM) using a numerical computation and an optics-based calculation. The behaviors and characteristics of the electron beam are analyzed and the focusing capability is investigated. The beam spot size is estimated by calculation and proved by experiment. The characteristics and properties determining the SEM performance are investigated for various design parameters through a numerical analysis and an optics-based calculation. Particularly, a combination of two approaches gives more detailed information than a single approach in investigating an extremely small beam spot by demagnification through the electromagnetic lens system in a SEM column.     

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.     

Three-dimensional nanofabrication by electron-beam-induced deposition using 200-keV electrons in scanning transmission electron microscope

Attempts were made to fabricate three-dimensional nanostructures on and out of a substrate by electron-beam-induced deposition in a 200-kV scanning transmission electron microscope. Structures with parallel wires over the substrate surface were difficult to fabricate due to the direct deposition of wires on both top and bottom surfaces of the substrate. Within the penetration depth of the incident electron beam, nanotweezers were fabricated by moving the electron beam beyond different substrate layers. Combining the deposition of self-supporting wires and self-standing tips, complicated three-dimensional doll-like, flag-like, and gate-like nanostructures that extend out of the substrate were successfully fabricated with one-step or multi-step scans of the electron beam. Effects of coarsening, nucleation, and distortion during electron-beam-induced deposition are discussed. PACS 81.16.-c; 81.07.-b; 68.37.Lp; 81.15.Jj; 79.20.Fv     

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.     

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.     

Dynamics of threading dislocations in porous heteroepitaxial GaN films

Behavior of threading dislocations in porous heteroepitaxial gallium nitride (GaN) films has been studied using computer simulation by the two-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics approach. A computational scheme, where pores are modeled as cross sections of cylindrical cavities, elastically interacting with unidirectional parallel edge dislocations, which imitate threading dislocations, is used. Time dependences of coordinates and velocities of each dislocation from dislocation ensembles under investigation are obtained. Visualization of current structure of dislocation ensemble is performed in the form of a location map of dislocations at any time. It has been shown that the density of appearing dislocation structures significantly depends on the ratio of area of a pore cross section to area of the simulation region. In particular, increasing the portion of pores surface on the layer surface up to 2% should lead to about a 1.5-times decrease of the final density of threading dislocations, and increase of this portion up to 15% should lead to approximately a 4.5-times decrease of it.     

红条毛肤石鳖主要横向牙齿内纳米磁性矿物质的扫描电镜研究

利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM),观察并分析了红条毛肤石鳖成熟的主要横向牙齿内天然存在的磁性纳米矿物质的形态、成分以及在牙齿内的大致分布,并和以往磁性研究中牙齿以及牙齿内磁性纳米矿物质所表现出来的强单轴各向异性相联系进行了讨论 关键词： 纳米磁性材料 扫描电镜研究     

Investigation of the pore space structure by a scanning electron microscope using the computer program collector

The features and capabilities of the computer program developed for the estimation of petrophysical parameters of oil and gas field rocks are briefly presented. The program is based on the analysis of SEM images of the microstructure of samples.     

Focused ion beam treatment of ZnO nanowires in the scanning electron microscope

We investigated vapor phase epitaxy-grown ZnO nanowires on a Si substrate by scanning electron microscopy. These investigations show that there are single nanowires and ensembles of nanowires, among which we found straight and bend, perfect and non-perfect nanowires, as well as nanowires with clean surfaces and surfaces with the dark spots and features. After focused ion beam polishing and milling we found that nanowires are homogeneous. The sizes of the nanowires were determined: the length is about 2–24 μm, and the width and height are about 200–500 nm.     

Estimation of the oxidation state of uranium in microparticles by using scanning electron microscope in the backscattered electrons mode

This paper considers the results of applying of scanning electron microscopes in the backscattered electron mode for the specifying of the contents of multielemental samples and minerals, which are presented in publications. This approach is used for estimation of oxidation state of uranium in microparticles. The possibility of this goal achieving is demonstrated on the example of the analysis of the UO₂ and U₃O₈ microparticles and the samples of In, Sn, Pt and Pb.     

Three-dimensional surface measurement using the confocal scanning microscope

The use of the depth discriminination property of the confocal scanning microscope for surface profiling has been adapted to provide a method of high-resolution three-dimensional surface profilometry. Measurements on a semiconductor specimen demonstrate the technique; depth variations of the order of 0.1 m are clearly resolved.     

Studies of threading dislocations in Nb(011) films

We obtain strain contrast in low-energy electron microscopy, by dark-field imaging of the strain-sensitive variants of a surface reconstruction. This is employed to make visible the strain fields of dislocations in Nb(011) thin single-crystal films. The strain field symmetries reveal the dislocation Burgers vectors and identify the existence of [111] a /2 and [100] a Burgers vectors for threading dislocations in these epitaxial materials. The contrast also allows interfacial and screw dislocations to be imaged.     

Vibration analysis of scanning thermal microscope probe nanomachining using Timoshenko beam theory

In this paper, the effect of thermal vibration on the resonant frequency of transverse vibration of scanning thermal microscope (SThM) cantilever probe is analyzed using the Timoshenko beam theory, including the effects of rotary inertia and shear deformation. The thermal vibration effect can be considered as an axial force and is dependent of temperature distribution of the probe. In this analysis, the temperature is assumed to be distributed in accordance with the constant, linear, and quadratic models along the probe length. The Rayleigh–Ritz method is used to solve the vibration problem of the probe. The numerical results show that the frequency obtained with the constant model is the highest, while it is the lowest for the quadratic model. The frequency of vibration modes of the probe increases with increasing the temperature of the probe. As the ratio of probe length to its thickness increases, the frequency of vibration modes decreases. In addition, the effects of rotary inertia and shear deformation on the frequency are significant, especially in higher order modes and smaller values of the ratio of the probe length to its thickness.