Effects of Electron Bombardment

Electron bombardment of a sample is unique to microprobe analysis and

produces a large number of effects from the target material.
The incident electrons interact with specimen atoms and are significantly
scattered by them (rather than penetrating the sample in a linear fashion).
Most of the energy of an electron beam will eventually end up heating
the sample (phonon excitation of the atomic lattice); however, before the
electrons come to rest, they undergo two types of scattering: elastic and
inelastic.
In elastic scattering, the electron trajectory changes, but its kinetic energy
and velocity remain essentially constant (due to large differences
between the mass of the electron and nucleus).
This process is known as electron backscattering (although later we will
confine the term "backscattered electrons" to those scatter out of the
sample).

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 Effects of Electron Bombardment

Fig. Effects produced by

electron bombardment of
a material.

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 Effects of Electron Bombardment

In inelastic scattering, the trajectory of the incident electron

is only slightly perturbed, but energy is lost through
interactions with the orbital electrons of the atoms in the
specimen.
Inelastic interactions produce diverse effect including:
phonon excitation (heating)
cathodoluminescence (visible light fluorescence)
continuum radiation (bremsstrahlung or “braking” radiation)
characteristic x-ray radiation
plasmon production (secondary electrons)
Auger electron production (ejection of outer shell electrons)

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 Effects of Electron Bombardment

Generalized illustration of
interaction volumes for various
electron-specimen interactions.
Auger electrons (not shown)
emerge from a very thin region of
the sample surface (maximum
depth about 50 Å ) than do
secondary electrons (50-500 Å ).

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 Volume of Excitation
Two factors limit the size and shape of the interaction volume: (1)
energy loss through inelastic interactions and (2) electron loss or
backscattering through elastic interactions.
The resulting excitation volume is a hemispherical to jug-shaped region
with the neck of jug at the specimen surface.
The analyst must remember that the interaction volume penetrates a
significant depth into the sample and avoid edges where it may
penetrate overlapping materials.
The depth of electron penetration of an electron beam and the volume of
sample with which it interacts are a function of its angle of incidence,
the magnitude of its current, the accelerating voltage, and the average
atomic number (Z) of the sample.
Of these, accelerating voltage and density play the largest roles in
determining the depth of electron interaction.
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 Interaction between e--beam and specimen

Composition Imaging

https://en.wikipedia.org

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 Volume of Excitation

Schematic depiction of the variation of

interaction volume shape with average
sample atomic number (Z) and
electron beam accelerating voltage
(Eo).
The actual shape of the interaction
volume is not as long-necked since the
electron beam in microprobe analysis
has a diameter of about 1 mm.

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 Volume of Excitation

Fig. Comparison of electron paths

(top) and sites of X-ray excitation
(bottom) in targets of aluminum,
copper, and gold at 20 keV,
simulated in a Monte Carlo
procedure (after Heinrich, 1981).

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 The Mont Carlo simulation of electron trajectories

Fig 5. Electron trajectories in bulk

copper at 20 keV

Fig 4.Electron trajectories in gold and silicon

foils 1000A thick, at 100 and 400 keV

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Fig 6. The Monte Carlo simulation of trajectories in bulk sample
of carbon, aluminum, copper and gold at 15 keV. 250
trajectories are shown for each sample

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3.Electron beam and specimen interaction

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Wisdom and Compassion J.G.Duh 24
 推算分析區域的深度與Lateral寬度
加速電壓增大，試樣上之X光產生區愈深。當
X光激發體積隨之增大，spatial resolution不再是試樣
上電子束直徑的相關函數。
Castaing（1951）曾定義分析區的深（Zm）與
Lateral寬度（δ）如下。


Z m  0.033 VO1.7  VK1.7  A
Z
[μm] (4)

分析區域的Lateral寬度約為

  d0  Z m [μm] (5)
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 – VO：加速電壓〔KV〕
– VK：元素之激發能量〔KeV〕
– A：原子重
– ρ：密度〔gms／cm3〕
– Z：原子數
– d0：電子探束直徑
– Zm：分析區域深度
– δ：分析區域Lateral寬度
事實上，分析區域體積為圓柱形，高度為Zm（μm），
直徑為δ（μm）如圖2所示。

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Fig 2. Accelerating potential dependence of the depth and lateral
width on an analyzed region

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