An electron moiré method for a common SEM

Abstract

In the electron moire method, a high-frequency grating is used to measure microscopic deformation, which promises significant potential applications for the method in the microscopic analysis of materials. However, a special beam scanning control device is required to produce a grating and generate a moire fringe pattern for the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Because only a few SEMs used in the material science studies are equipped with this device, the use of the electron moire method is limited. In this study, an electron moire method for a common SEM without the beam control device is presented. A grating based on a multi-scanning concept is fabricated in any observing mode. A real-time moire pattern can also be generated in the SEM or an optical filtering system. Without the beam control device being a prerequisite, the electron moire method can be more widely used. The experimental results from three different types of SEMs show that high quality gratings with uniform lines and less pitch error can be fabricated by this method, and moire patterns can also be correctly generated.