MID-SEMESTER PROJECT PRESENTATION

Topic:
MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION USING ELETRON
MICROSCOPY
Name: Neil Sharma
ID No.: 2018B2A80677G
UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF
Dr. K.P. Jayadevan
(Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry)
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.) INTRODUCTION:
 Invention and history
 Types of EM’s and their parts
 Principle
2.) WORKING AND CONSTRUCTION:
 Different processes involved- Rastering, Magnification, Focussing,etc.
 Brief discussion of beam-specimen interactions
3.) STUDY OF IMAGE FORMATION:
 Electron optics- Emission guns and lenses
 Controllable Parameters- Accelerating voltage, Probe diameter, Probe current and Spot size
4.) BASIC USES AND APPLICATIONS:
 Discussion of simple uses for which the detailed study will be continued in the comprehensive report
 INTRODUCTION
 The first prototype electron microscope, capable of four-hundred-power magnification, was developed in 1931 by
the physicist Ernst Ruska and the electrical engineer Max Knoll.
 Although Max Knoll produced a photo with a 50 mm object-field-width showing channeling contrast by the use of an electron
beam scanner, it was Manfred von Ardenne who in 1937 invented a microscope with high resolution by scanning a very small
raster with a demagnified and finely focused electron beam. This was the invention of SEM.

SEM
TEM

STEM

STM
 BASIC WORKING PRINCIPLE
An electron microscope uses an electron beam to produce the image of the object and magnification is
obtained by electromagnetic fields. It produces useful magnification up to X 400,000, as compared to
X 2000 in a light microscope.
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE(SEM):
Principle-
1.) In a scanning electron microscope, the specimen is exposed to a
narrow electron beam from an electron gun from a source like tungsten
filament and passes through various apertures and lenses.
2.)This electron beam which rapidly moves over or scans the surface
of the specimen (rastering). This causes a release of secondary electrons
3.) These electrons are collected by a detector, which generates
electronic signals. These signals are scanned in the manner of a
television system to produce an image on a cathode ray tube
(CRT).The image is recorded by capturing it from the CRT.
 CONSTRUCTION
1.) Electron gun.
2.) Lenses- 2 condenser and 1 objective
3.) Apertures- Beam monitor and Objective Secondary electron detector

4.) Beam Specimen Interaction Area

5.) Deflector coils
6.) Detecting Mechanism

WORKING
1.) Rastering- Taking image from vector graphics to rester image format
2.) Magnification- Dependent on the probe current.
3.) Focussing- Adjustment with ‘depth of focus’; high and low.
4.) Beam-Specimen Interactions- Particular to specimen and type of beam generated.
 .

Condenser lens: Used to control diameter of the electron beam by controlling probe current
Objective lens: Used to focus beam on specimen and determines final diameter of the electron
probe. Coarse focus is done by choosing Working Distance (WD).
Aperture: It is placed between the condenser lens and objective lens. The aperture is made of a thin
metal plate having a small hole. It allows a part of the electron beam to reach the objective lens.
Beam-Specimen Interaction area: It allows horizontal movement, vertical movement, specimen
tilting (T), and rotation (R). The x and y movements are used for the selection of a field of view.
While the z movement provides the change of image resolution and the depth of focus.
Deflector coils: Electrons are negatively charged particles and travel through the electron column
at high energy and high speed. One way to deflect these particles is to let them travel through an
electric field generated by two plates at opposite potential.
Detecting mechanism: A fluorescent substance is coated on the
tip of the detector. Under high voltage, the electrons generate
light and this light is converted into an electric signal. This
signal is the processed by the computer to get the output image.
RASTERING:
The electron beam is rastered from top to bottom and left to
right.The beam falls on the specimen and a signal is derived, which
then goes to the detector for processing.

MAGNIFICATION: It is the area scanned on the monitor

upon the area scanned on the specimen. To change the
magnification, we change the size of the rastered area on specimen.

DEPTH OF FOCUS: When the electron probe is considerably parallel (aperture angle is small), the
image stays in focus even if the focus is changed by a large amount. This is called large depth of focus.
BEAM-SPECIMEN INTERACTIONS: The beam can interact with either the electric field of nucleus
or of electrons. These result in inelastic events(secondary electrons) and elastic events(backscattered
electrons).
 IMAGE FORMATION
1. ELECTRON LENSES: Condenser and objective lenses as discussed
Electromagnetic lenses are used to demagnify the image of the beam source exiting the
electron gun and to focus the beam on the specimen. The magnetic field is inhomogeneous in
such a way that it is weak in the center of the gap and becomes stronger close to the bore.
Electrons close to the center are less strongly deflected than those passing the lens far from
the axis.

2. ELECTRON EMISSION GUNS:

 FEG: Cold FEG’s and Thermally assisted FEG’s
 Lanthanum Hexaboride
 Tungsten Hairpin
 FIELD EMISSION ELCTRON GUNS
 It utilizes the field-emission effect that takes place when a high electric field is applied to a metal surface.
 The cathode is made of a thin tungsten wire. This is called emitter.
 When a positive voltage (a few kV) is applied to a metal plate (extracting electrode), the tunneling effect occurs.
 If a hole is made, you can obtain an electron beam having certain energy.
 FEM’s require very clean metal tips and ultra high vacuum levels.
.

LENS ABBERATIONS:
 Spherical aberrations
 Chromatic aberrations
 Astigmatism

OPERATOR CONTROL PARAMETERS:

 Beam accelerating voltage
 Probe convergence angle
 Probe current
 Probe diameter or Spot Size

BRIGHTNESS OF IMAGE: Beam current per unit area per unit solid angle
 USES AND APPLICATIONS
 Examining surface contaminations and revealing spatial variations
 Material science and research
 Microchip assembly
 Industrial Semiconductor inspection.
 Biological and forensic uses (3D tissue imaging)
THANK-YOU