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Imaging of Shallow Surface Topography by the Low-Loss Electron (LLE) Method in the Scanning Electron Microscope

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018

Oliver C. Wells
Oliver C. Wells*
Affiliation:
IBM Research Division

Extract

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The low-loss electron (LLE) method in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) was proposed by Dennis McMullan in 1953: “…the beam from the specimen could be restricted to the electrons which have lost only small amounts of energy and which have therefore travelled only short distances through the specimen.”

Subsequent studies showed that the LLE method gives different image contrasts from the more familiar secondary electron (SE) method: (i) it is less affected by specimen charging; (ii) has a shallower information depth for a given beam energy; (iii) shows less serious penetration effects at sharp edges; (iv) shows stronger channeling contrast; and (v) Is better for showing shallow surface topography.

Type
Research Article
Information
Microscopy Today , Volume 10 , Issue 6 , November 2002 , pp. 24 - 27
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2002

References

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