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ELECTRON MICROSCOPY Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) versus Transmission Optical Microscope (TOM) TEM 100-400 kV electron gun high current densities: 5 x 104 Am-2 for tungsten filament 1 x 106 Am-2 for field-emission source Condenser lens Electromagnetic lens, focus adjusted by controlling the lens current Specimen stage Allows for specimen tilt as well as some z-adjustment Objective lens Fine focusing of the image by adjusting the lens current Source Final imaging system Recording system Experimental set-up in Employs electromagnetic lenses to produce image on a fluorescent screen Computer monitor or TV Vacuum, better than 10-6 torr TOM Light source

Glass lens, focus adjusted by lens position Allows for specimen tilt as well as some z-adjustment Fine focusing by adjusting the position of the specimen and the objective lens Eye piece forming image for direct viewing Normal viewing or photographic films Air, at atmospheric pressure

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Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

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Major components are the electron column consisting of an electron gun and the electron lenses, and the control console consisting of a cathode ray tube viewing screen and the scanning and control electronics for the electron beam. The three dimensional appearance of the image is due to the large depth of field. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) employs a probe lens to focus the electron beam into a fine probe and scanning coils are used to scan the probe over the sample.

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Resolution of the SEM is controlled by the probe lens. It is the inelastically scattered electrons that provide information. Usually < 30 keV electrons are used in SEM. In optical microscopy and TEM, information is collected continuously over the full field of view (from all image points simultaneously) and focused by suitable lenses to form a magnified image. In SEM, information is collected sequentially.

Electron Sources:

The filament is resistively heated to 2000 2700K by applying a high voltage and a small amount of current to a point that valence electrons are released from its tip in what is called a space charge cloud. The amount of energy needed to cause electrons to leave the filament is called the work function. The electrons are released in all directions. The potential (charge) - or excess of electrons - to create electrons and control their emission. Wehnelt cap/grid has a slight negative negative lines of force that focus the emitted

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The filament or cathode is supplied with a high negative voltage, e.g. -20,000 volts. The anode, a metal plate with a hole in it, is at ground potential (0 volts) and is greatly positive with respect to the cathode. This potential difference accelerates the electrons toward the anode.

Along the route from the cathode to the anode, the paths of the individual electrons cross each other. This is called the point of crossover with diameter d0. It is considered the real source in the electron gun, and its image is projected onto the specimen surface. After the crossover, the electron beam diverges with a divergence angle 0. The condenser and objective lenses then produce a demagnified image of the crossover on the specimen with an image diameter dp.

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The anode has a hole in it. This hole allows only a fraction of the electrons to continue down the column toward the lenses. The remaining electrons are collected on the anode and returned via the ground to the voltage supply. Hot Cathode Guns: Tungsten filaments and Lab-six LaB6 crystals, producing thermionic emission of electrons. Thermionic emission formula: Current density I = AT2 exp(-E/kT) A = Richardsons constant depending on the source material, T = emission temperature K (C+273), E = work function or the energy required to escape from the filament into the vacuum, k = Boltzmans constant.

Tungsten: stable beam current short life large tip large emitting area (probe diameter) low brightness high work function high evaporation rate lower vacuum (10-6 Torr) low resolution 2700 K

LaB6: stable beam current 10 times longer life smaller tip smaller emitting area (probe diameter) higher brightness (10 times higher current) lower work function medium evaporation rate higher vacuum (10-7 Torr) higher resolution (due to thinner beam) 1700 K

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Field Emission: This is based on the fact that electrons can be drawn off from a material by applying a high voltage in ultra high vacuum conditions. stable beam current if heated, unstable if cold very long life more monochromatic small tip very small emitting area (small probe diameter) very high brightness (1000 times compared to hot guns) concentrated electric field can tunnel through energy barrier low evaporation rate very high vacuum (10-10 Torr) very high resolution (electrons are emitted from a very fine tip) three types cold, thermal, Schottky

Electron Beam The electrons that go through the hole in the anode and continue down the column to the specimen make up the electron beam. The flow of these electrons in called the beam current. The electron beam is manipulated by lenses and apertures.

Electromagnetic lenses and focusing:

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Since electrons have a charge, their direction of travel can be altered by an electromagnetic field. An electron traveling in offaxis to a uniform magnetic field follows a helical path. Electrons can be brought to focus by engineering the electrostatic and/or magnetic fields. In the region of electron gun, the beam is influenced by the electrostatic field. All the subsequent focusing is achieved by electromagnetic lenses.

The condenser lens concentrates (or demagnifies) the beam of electrons into a small area called a spot. It is like the condenser on an optical transmission microscope which concentrates light from the light source (e.g,. a light bulb) into a small area as it passes through the specimen slide. The size of the spot can be adjusted. It can be a large area or it can be adjusted to be a small area. Condenser or spot size control is one of the most important controls on an SEM.

In the electromagnetic lens, the intensity of the field (the magnetic flux) causes a radial vector along the optical axis, so when an electron is accelerated through the pole pieces, it takes a helical path through the lens. The rotational force is the product of the electron velocity and the density of the magnetic flux. This vector interaction also results in focusing as the strength of the lens is changed.

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Focal length of the electromagnetic lens is controlled by varying the lens current. The focal length is approximately proportional to V/(NI)2 where V is the accelerating voltage, N is the number of turns in the magnet coil and I is the current.

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Electron lenses demagnify the image of the beam crossover (with d0 ~ 50m for a heated electron gun) in the electron gun to the final spot size on the specimen of ~10 nm. This represents a demagnification by 5000 times. These lenses are created with high precision and even a hairline scratch can distort their magnetic field and will have to be replaced. Most electromagnetic lenses are cooled with water to prevent extra heating. Their functions are similar to optical lenses. A condenser lens can condense electrons; an objective lens can focus electrons on the specimen, and a projector lens can project an image onto a screen.

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1/f = 1/p + 1/q Demagnification m = p/q = d0/d1

Like in optical microscopy, spherical aberration makes peripheral electrons to be deflected more than electrons that are closer to the center. Electrons in the beam with slightly different velocities or wavelengths causes chromatic aberration. Both types of aberrations results in a disk rather than a point where all the rays converge. Both types of aberrations make the image blurred and reduce resolution. Diameter of the disk ds in the case of spherical aberration ds = Cs3 Where Cs is the spherical aberration coefficient (usually few millimeters) directly related to the accelerating voltage and the focal length of the lens and is the aperture angle.

Diameter of the disk in the case of chromatic aberration dc = E/E Cc WhereE/E is the fractional variation in electron beam voltage, Cc is the chromatic aberration coefficient related to the focal length of the lens and is the aperture angle.

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Increasing the working distance produces a larger spot size at the specimen and a consequent degradation of the image resolution. Increasing the condenser lens strength increases the demagnification of each lens by reducing the probe size dp.

Neglecting chromatic aberration, the dependence of probe size dp on probe current ip can be written as:

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where constant K ~ 1. The value of dp can be obtained in nm when Cs and are in nm, ip in Amperes and brightness in A/cm2 sr.

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Depending on the type of electron source, and its inherent brightness, the focused beams can have sizes ranging from nanometers to micrometers carrying currents ranging from picoamperes to microamperes. The thermionic guns have a minimum probe size of ~ 10 nm. Field emission guns have the smallest probe diameters ~ 1.2 nm suitable for higher resolution SEM measurements.

Resolution can be improved by increasing the accelerating voltage. But one has to worry about radiation damage at such high voltages. The lenses in a SEM are generally electromagnets, coils of copper wire around a hollow iron core through which the electrons pass as they are accelerated down the column. By applying a direct current through the copper coil, we can create a magnetic field in the hollow of the lens that will slightly change the path of the electron beam, and we can control that path by varying the current in the coil, which in turn changes the strength of the electromagnetic field.

The electromagnetic lens is a notoriously poor lens when compared to the glass lens that focuses light. Some aberrations cannot be corrected as they can in glass lenses.

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