Signal Detection

Imaging in the SEM

» Images are formed

because of the beam
interactions that occur
» These interactions do
not occur at a point, but
all through some
volume of the sample
» The size of this volume
varies with beam
energy... Monte Carlo simulations
of electrons in silicon
 Shape of interaction volume

» ….and the shape of the

interaction volume depends on
Carbon
the atomic number Z
Z=6
» High Z elements give more
elastic scattering so the
electrons are deflected more
Copper
Z = 29

Gold
Z = 79
 Detector efficiency contrast
» SE emitted towards the Beam Detector
detector are more likely to be
collected than those traveling
away from the detector since
typical SE detectors collect
<50% not collected collected
» The position of a surface
relative to the detector will
50%
therefore affect how bright it
collected -
looks in the image. somewhat
» This ‘detector efficiency 10%
bright
100%
contrast’ is combined with collected collected -
topographic contrast - dark bright
 Lower Detector

» The detector position Indent in

therefore affects the image Si
appearance
» The lower (ET) detector views
the sample from one side and
so the face looking away from
the detector is shadowed

To detector
 Upper detector

» The upper (through the lens)

detector views the sample
from above
» The SE collection is now
symmetrical and so all faces
of the indent are equally
visible. They are brighter
than the flat surface because
of topographic contrast.
 Back Scattered Electrons

» Although secondary electron imaging is the most popular

mode in the SEM, back scattered electrons (BSE) are very
versatile and offer some unique kinds of information
» Key difference - BSE are incident electrons scattered back
out of the sample, SE are electrons which start out in the
specimen
» The BSE yield increases with Z and incident angle
» Large, symmetric BSE detector required

Z contrast from
Igneous rock
Imaging performance

» The probe size is determined by the combined effect of

the aberrations of the lens
» The magnitude of the aberrations vary with the focal
length of the lens - which is about equal to the working
distance
» Some lens’ designs are more capable than others at
combining both high performance and good sample
access
The ‘pinhole’ lens
» The original SEM lens - designed so
as to produce no magnetic field in
the sample chamber
» Good sample access
» Long working distance (focal length)
and so high aberrations
» Poor EM screening
» Asymmetric SE collection due to
position of ET
The immersion lens
» Short focal length - so low
aberrations
» Good EM screening
» Very stable specimen mounting
in lens
» Symmetric SE collection using
the ‘through the lens’ (TTL)
detector system
» But restricted to small samples
(3mm discs)
 Snorkel (or Single Pole) Lens

» Based on an original idea by

Prof.Tom Mulvey in 1970
» Short focal length - so low
aberrations and high
performance
» Good EM screening
» The sample is outside the
lens so there is no limitation
on the size of the specimen
» Can support BSE + two SE S-4700 lens
detectors for great imaging
flexibility ……..
configuration Excitation
- 1000 amp.turns
 SE detectors

» Snorkel lens permits multiple

detectors to be used
» In-lens (TTL) detector gives a
shadow free image with ultra-
high topographical resolution.
With ExB filter also acts as a
BSE detector
» Lower (ET) detector gives SE
images with material contrast
information and high
efficiency at high tilt angles
» These detectors can be used
separately or combined

Snorkel lenses allow multiple detectors

 Two detectors - different signals

» The upper and lower detectors have a different viewpoint

of the specimen and so they ‘see’ the specimen differently
» In addition these two detectors collect a different mix of
the electrons emitted from the sample...
 Image Content SE1
TTL

» SE1 - produced as the

SE2

beam enters the sample. Lens Detector

These are the ‘ high
resolution’ SE BSE ET

» SE2 - are produced by the SE2 SE1 SE3

BSE as they leave. Low

resolution SE SE escape

» SE3 - tertiary signal, not

from the specimen at all
 SE Comparison

Upper SE Detector Lower SE Detector

Vision
Vision Goggles-
Goggles- ThisThis sample
sample is is aa hole-punched
hole-punched silicon
silicon wafer
wafer with
with various
various metals
metals deposited
deposited on
on its
its
surface.
surface. The
The upper
upper detector
detector image
image shows
shows the
the metal
metal layer
layer banding
banding on on the
the inside
inside walls
walls of
of the
the holes.
holes. We
We
are
are able
able to
to see
see into
into the
the holes
holes to
to gain
gain an
an understanding
understanding of
of the
the location
location of
of contamination
contamination within.
within. The
The
lower
lower detector
detector image
image emphasizes
emphasizes the the surface
surface details
details and
and the
the top
top portion
portion of
of the
the contaminants
contaminants without
without
the
the effect
effect of
of charging
charging in in the
the image.
image.
The signal mix

» Measurements show that lower detector sees a signal

which is typically 40% SE3, 45% SE2, about 15% SE1
and some direct BSE signal
» The upper (TTL) detector sees a signal mix which is about
75% SE2 and 25% SE1
» The upper detector therefore contains a much lower BS
component in its signal output and so gives higher
contrast images
Alignment/Collection Dilemma

f f
d

 f
d  f 
S-4700 Detection System

» The ExB filter can now be used to

select the mix of electrons reaching the
upper detector
» The system can be adjusted to give
images consisting of from pure SE to
pure BSE, and anywhere in between
» This provides great flexibility in
overcoming charging and in optimizing
imaging contrast
» SE to BSE ratio changes by altering the
amount of SEs collected
SE
SE
BSE
BSE
 e e
New New
E×B E×B
Upper Detector Upper Detector

Topo - SE Mode Compo - BSE Mode

SE >> BSE BSE + SE
SE BSE

Positive Negative
 100% SE image

» At one end of the range the

TTL detector sees a true SE
image
» The energy range of the
electrons from which this
image is formed can further
be tuned by using the stage
bias

Device imaged in
S-4700 with ExB
100% BSE

» At the other end of the

control range a true BSE
image is available
» Between these two
extremes are mixtures
which combine the
features of both SE and
BSE but may be much
less prone to charging

100% BSE image

S-4700 with ExB
Upper Detector Versatility

SE Image SE/BSE Image

Edge effect (no detail) No edge effect, detailed edges

Topographic information Composite information

Charged-up No charging visible

 Minimizes Charge Appearance

Full SE Mode Full BSE Mode

Teflon
Teflon Tape-
Tape- Notorious
Notorious for
for its
its charging
charging characteristics,
characteristics, this
this sample
sample is
is actually
actually charging
charging in
in
both
both images.
images. However,
However, the
the right
right image
image isis made
made up
up of
of electrons
electrons (BSEs)
(BSEs) that
that do
do not
not represent
represent
the
the top
top surface
surface where
where the
the charge
charge is
is occurring.
occurring.
 Reduces Contamination Appearance
Images thru contamination!

Full SE Mode BSE Mix Mode

ITO
ITO Film-
Film- Even
Even inin the
the cleanest
cleanest vacuum
vacuum systems
systems hydrocarbons
hydrocarbons on
on the
the sample’s
sample’s surface
surface can
can interfere
interfere
with
with low
low voltage
voltage imaging
imaging because
because of
of its
its shallow
shallow interaction
interaction volume.
volume. ByBy selecting
selecting aa moderate
moderate setting
setting
on
on the
the ExB
ExB filter,
filter, the
the contamination
contamination isis removed
removed from
from the
the image
image and
and the
the sample
sample details
details beneath
beneath the
the
hydrocarbons
hydrocarbons can
can be
be seen.
seen.
 High Resolution BSE Imaging
Vias-
Vias- Here
Here the
the backscattered
backscattered electron
electron signal
signal
highlights
highlights the
the tantalum
tantalum barrier
barrier asas well
well as
as the
the
surface
surface structure
structure within
within the
the vias.
vias. With
With the
the ExB
ExB
image
image wewe can
can confidently
confidently measure
measure the
the thickness
thickness
of
of the
the tantalum
tantalum barrier.
barrier.

Notice
Notice the the short
short WD
WD for for high
high resolution.
resolution.
This
This isis aa valuable
valuable benefit
benefit ofof the
the ExB
ExB Filter.
Filter.
Other
Other BSEBSE detectors
detectors force
force the
the WD
WD toto 8mm
8mm
and
and longer.
longer.
 Biological Applications

Salmonella
Salmonella Bacteria-
Bacteria- Here
Here the
the BSE
BSE signal
signal highlights
highlights the
the gold
gold label
label particles
particles on
on the
the salmonella
salmonella
bacteria.
bacteria. The
The gold
gold labels
labels are
are used
used to
to mark
mark various
various proteins
proteins of
of interest.
interest. These
These high
high resolution
resolution
images
images confirm
confirm the
the theory
theory that
that the
the particles
particles are
are 10nm
10nm inin diameter
diameter and
and show
show that
that most
most tagged
tagged
proteins
proteins are
are located
located on
on the
the strands
strands between
between the
the bacteria.
bacteria.
S-4800 Signal Detection
» Same ExB Filter as S-
4700
» Addition of plates within
the objective lens
designed to collect and
convert BSEs into SEs
» Therefore ratio of SE to
BSE changes by adjusting
SE and BSE signal

SE
SE
BSE
BSE
 S-5200 ExB Detection Mode

1 e Pure SE 2 e Filtered SE
Plate Plate
SED2 SED2
(Option) (Option)

ExB ExB
SED1 SED1
(STD) (STD)

Electrode Electrode
SE BSE SE BSE
sample sample
 S-5200 ExB Detection Mode

3 e Compo-rich 4 e BSE
Plate Plate
SED2 SED2
(Option) (Option)

ExB ExB
SED1 SED1
(STD) (STD)

Electrode Electrode
SE BSE SE BSE
sample sample
 STEM in the SEM

sample Image courtesy

Bill Roth NSA

Scatter
To ET
surface
detector

» A FEGSEM also allows excellent STEM operation. A simple adapter

permits bright and dark field STEM observation.
» Ideal for biological science - high contrast even from unstained samples.
 STEM Imaging

Primary Beam
Low
Low voltage
voltage STEM
STEM imaging
imaging at
at 30kV
30kV in
in
an
an SEM
SEM cancan provide
provide high
high contrast
contrast on
on
low
low atomic
atomic number
number materials.
materials. STEM
STEM
Objective images
images of of various
various sample
sample types
types is
is
Lens possible,
possible, fromfrom semiconductors
semiconductors to to
powders
powders toto biological
biological samples.
samples.
Actual STEM Holder The
The BF-STEM
BF-STEM detector
detector is is always
always
mounted
mounted toto the
the chamber
chamber soso itit is
is easy
easy toto
Sample
switch
switch between
between STEM
STEM imaging
imaging from from
other
other imaging
imaging modes.
modes. The
The majority
majority of of the
the
Sample
following
following examples
examples have
have both
both SE SE and
and
STEM
STEM images
images soso that
that comparisons
comparisons can can
be
be made.
made.
STEM
Aperture External View of Detector The
The STEM
STEM signal
signal is
is selectable
selectable in
in the
the
software
software so
so that
that alignment
alignment and
and image
image
focus
focus can
can be
be done
done using
using the
the SE
SE image
image
STEM and
and thenthen compared
compared to to STEM
STEM
Detector information.
information.
 LVSTEM S-5000 Image

» In STEM mode the beam

penetration is high.
» Here a metal contact,
prepared for 100keV
TEM observation is
viewed in STEM at
30keV. Note excellent
contrast and resolution

Bright field STEM image

from S-5000 FEG SEM.
 Simultaneous STEM Imaging

Upper SE
Detector
Obj lens SE

DF-STEM
Sample 50nm
Detector BF-STEM

Reflection plate
DF-STEM
50nm

Aperture for BF-STEM

BF- STEM Detector 50nm

 B

Carbon Nanotubes

STEM
A B

SE
AA step
step towards
towards their
their practical
practical use
use is
is in
in the
the purification
purification
of
of catalytic
catalytic metals.
metals. Using
Using the
the STEM
STEM detector,
detector, the
the inner
inner Fe
contents
contents ofof these
these nanotubes
nanotubes isis visible.
visible. InIn combination
combination
with
with EDS
EDS analysis,
analysis, we
we can
can measure
measure 20nm20nm oror less
less of
of
iron
iron that
that is
is used
used in
in the
the growing
growing process.
process.
 STEM

Carbon Nanotube
The
The SE
SE image
image below
below shows
shows excellent
excellent surface
surface
structure.
structure. The
The structure
structure is
is also
also visible
visible in
in STEM
STEM
mode.
mode. At At 800,000x
800,000x the the internal
internal growth
growth
structure
structure ofof the
the nanotube
nanotube andand internal
internal tube
tube
diameter
diameter can
can be
be accurately
accurately measured.
measured.

SE STEM

5nm