<title>Immersion lenses for low-voltage SEM and LEEM</title>

By providing higher image contrast and reduced charging artifacts, the low voltage scanning electron microscope (LVSEM) is a valuable tool for surface characterization, of particular importance on nonconductive material such as biological specimens. Several SEM designs optimized for use at low voltage have been proposed.Recently, we have designed a new high resolution LVSEM using a field emission gun. The key problem is to decrease both the spherical and chromatic aberration coefficients by using a magnetic lens of small bore diameters(5mm and 10mm) and a narrow gap (7.5mm) (FIG. 1). In our first design, the magnetic lens is built around the side-entry stage of a Philips 300kV TEM and performs as well as that in the present Hitachi SEM H-900 or H-900S. Its simple design has been chosen for reliability and flexibility in farbrication.

Aberrations generated by the magnetic lens, the aperture lens and the retarding field lens are calculated separately using the electron beam trajectories. Most of the chromatic aberrations for the magnetic lens and retarding electric field system are generated by the magnetic lens. The chromatic aberration coefficient for the system is reduced by the factor (landing beam energy/initial beam energy), because the beam is not yet retarded in the magnetic lens. The spherical aberration coefficient is reduced because the beam semiangle is increased by the retarding field lens. The aperture lens generates negative-sign aberration and reduced the total aberration for the system; however, its absolute value is the smallest among those generated by the other two lenses.

Optical properties of two kinds of immersion lenses, i.e. the radial gap magnetic lens and the combined electric and magnetic field lens have been compared. When the specimen allows the application of a leakage electric field about 600 V and the accelerating voltage on the specimen is lower than 2 kV, the combined field lens is better than the radial gap lens, because the spherical and chromatic aberration coefficients are small and the collimation efficiency of secondary electrons is perfect. However, if the leakage electric field is not allowed, the radial gap lens is superior to the combined field lens. In the case of the radial gap lens, a weak electric field has to be applied to the specimen for collimating electrons emitted with large angle from the specimen. When the specimen is set lower than the magnetic field maximum position, a solenoid coil placed inside the yoke of the lens is useful to bring up the off axial electrons.

A new aberration-corrected, energy-filtered LEEM/PEEM instrument. I. Principles and design

The advantages of the LV SEM are well known. Recently a lot of interesting results from this field were presented which were obtained thanks to development of field emission guns and to the enourmous progress in the computation techniques in electron optics.One of the simplest arrangements of the LVSEM is shown in Figure 1. The Tesla SEM BS 350 with a field emission gun and the TF-W/100-Zr cathode was used for our experiment. The gun provides 10−10 A current in the diffraction limited spot (for the angular density 0.20mA sr−1). If a potential Usp is applied to the specimen the energy E of the electrons that strike the specimen is Ep-eUsp (Ep-primary beam energy, e-elementary charge). The produced secondary (SE) and backscattered (BSE) electrons are accelerated towards the semiconductor detector by the electrostatic field and their energy spectrum extends from eUsp to Ep. The final energy of the SE and BSE can then be sufficient for achieving a reasonable amplification of the semiconductor detector which is directly proportional to the energy of the electrons that strike the detector. We calculated optical properties for a combination of the electrostatic and magnetic lenses of the basic geometry shown in Figure 1 and for an arrangement with the single polepiece lens shown in Figure 2. We particularly investigated coefficients of the chromatic (Cc) and spherical (Cs) aberrations as functions of the ratio of the primary beam energy to the energy of the electrons that strike the specimen Ep/E for some optimum position of the specimen, electropstatic and magnetic field. Our results are shown in Table 1. The coefficients Cs and Cc do not change with the energy Epor E if the ratio Ep/E is maitained the same and aberrations are lower for larger ratios Ep/E, so that the influence of the contribution of the electrostatic lens aberrations is negligible for our geometry. For example, if we require a resolution limit r=2nm and an energy of the electrons that strike the specimen E=300eV, it is possible to calculate that the coefficient of the aberrations must be Cs<0.21mm and Cc<0.14mm for an energy width AE=0.2eV, so that we need the ratio Ep/E≥150 for the arrangement shown in Figure 1 (i.e.Ep≥45keV) and Ep/E≥33 for the arrangement shown in Figure 2 (i.e.Ep≥10keV).The advantages of the combination of the magnetic lens with the electrostatic cathode lens for the high resolution very low energy electron microscopy are well known . We assume that for the LVSEM only a medium electrostatic field strength is admitted at the specimen surface. Nevertheless, our experimental arrangements should certainly be optimized in the future.

The main goal of the present research is to determine whether there is a significant difference between the aberrations of magnetic and electrostatic electron lenses when they are used in the same way. Comparison of the lenses was done in an electron-optical bench, set up to resemble a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Five different lenses, two magnetic and three electrostatic, were compared. Each group included two lenses with different lens-field lengths (pole-face spacing in magnetic lenses and interior length in electrostatic lenses). The lenses were used in turn to focus the electron beam into a demagnified image, or probe. The shadowgraph method was used to determine the paraxial properties and the spherical aberration coefficients Cs' of the probes. Graphs of Cs' versus working distance (WD) were used to compare the spherical aberrations of the probes focused by the different lenses. The main difference was shown to be not the type of lens, but rather differences in the lengths of the lens fields. For the same WD, lenses of either type, with shorter lens fields, had higher values of Cs' than did lenses with longer lens fields. An exception occurs when the focal length f0 goes through a minimum, causing Cs' to be lower for a short-field lens. Theoretical models with the same physical basis for focusing as the respective lens types, but with analytical solutions for the paraxial image and lens properties, were introduced for comparison with the experimental lenses. Lowering the activation of the models brought the curves of model properties into agreement with the corresponding lens graphs. The reduction in model activation needed for agreement was greater for short-field than for long-field lenses, showing that short-field lenses had weaker paraxial fields and higher spherical aberration coefficients. The analytical curves of lens properties obtained from the reduced activation models were used to evaluate the chromatic coefficients Cc' of the probes. Curves of Cc' vs. WD show that is higher for the electrostatic lenses than for the magnetic lenses.

The observation of microstructural features smaller than 300 nm is generally performed using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) because conventional Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) do not have the resolution to image such small phases. Since the early 1990’s, a new generation of microscopes is now available on the market. These are the Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope with a virtual secondary electron detector. The field emission gun gives a higher brightness than those obtained using conventional electron filaments allowing enough electrons to be collected to operate the microscope with incident electron energy, E0, below 5 keV, with probe diameter smaller than 2.5 nm. Furthermore, what gives FE-SEM outstanding resolution is the combination of new magnetic lenses with a virtual secondary electron (SE) detector. The new lenses are designed to reduce the spherical and chromatic aberration coefficients, giving a smaller probe size. Contrary to the conventional systems, the SE detector is located above the objective lens and it becomes a virtual or through-the-lens (TTL) detector. Therefore, the SE image is mostly made up of all SEs of type I, almost eliminating those of type II and III which are generated by the backscattered electrons inside the specimen as well as in the chamber. It has been shown recently that Nb(CN) precipitates in Fe, as small than 10 nm, can be imaged with a FE-SEM Hitachi S-4500 with the TTL detector.

Low-voltage scanning electron microscopy (LV-SEM) with landing energies below 5 keV has been widely used due to its advantages in mitigating the damage and charging effects to a specimen and enhancing surface information due to small interaction volume of electrons inside a specimen. Additionally, for elemental analysis of the surfaces of bulk specimens with Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) or electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) environment is essential to maintain clean surfaces without the absorption of gas molecules during the electron beam irradiation for the acquisition of spectral data. In this study, we propose the optimal design and condition of a conical Electrostatic Objective Lens (EOL) for a UHV LV-SEM to achieve the high spatial resolution and secondary electron (SE) detection efficiency. The EOL is composed of only the three electrodes (retarding, focusing and booster electrodes) and the insulators, which is suitable for maintaining a UHV environment with less out-gassing. The cone angle of the EOL is determined as 60° to integrate a spectrometer in the UHV LV-SEM and in a large size and a higher tilt angle of the sample. Through the optimization with the simulations, the EOL achieves the minimized spherical and chromatic aberration coefficients of 0.05 and 0.03 mm at the sample side, respectively, at the landing energy of 50 eV and the shortest working distance (WD) of 1 mm for high-resolution imaging. In addition, the probe diameter of the optimized EOL is 2.3 nm at 1 keV and 5.7 nm at 50 eV with a WD of 1 mm and a probe current of 10 pA, which are comparable to previously studied compound objective lenses with magnetic and electrostatic lenses. Using a longer WD of 4 mm for analysis, the probe diameter was 5.4 nm at 1 keV and the SE detection efficiency was 83.3 % owing to the separated scintillator detector structure from the booster electrode.These results imply that the optimized EOL has the potential to be applied to a high-performance UHV LV-SEM for the surface imaging and analysis with a simple system configuration.

Design for an aberration corrected scanning electron microscope using miniature electron mirrors

Combination of magnetic and electric quadrupole lenses as zoom Sextuplet ion microprobe focusing system with minimum spherical aberration

Measuring and correcting aberrations of a cathode objective lens

The nanoelectronics industry demands continuous improvement in the performance of scanning electron microscopes (SEMs). Extremely low energies of less than 1 keV are required for SEM observations to allow the subsurface and nanoscale information of target specimens to be measured with minimized charge-up and beam damage depths because of the reduced interaction volumes. In this article, the authors propose a new monochromator (MC) structure and investigate its applicability to SEMs operating at such extra-low energies. The proposed MC, which uses double-offset cylindrical lenses, can perform energy filtering in its midsection and form a stigmatic and nonenergy dispersive image at the exit. The energy resolution is expected to be better than 10 meV for a pass energy of 4 keV. The MC has the additional advantage of a simple but robust structure, which is essential for industrial applications. Assuming the use of ideal and high-performance SEM optics, for which the spherical aberration coefficient and the chromatic aberration coefficient are both 1 mm, beam diameters measured in terms of the full width that contains 50% of the beam current (FW50) are calculated at the specimen position. Use of the MC improves the beam diameter dramatically to 4.4 nm, as compared to the diameter of 19.7 nm for the SEM without the MC, at a landing energy of 100 eV. The chromatic aberration contribution also becomes negligible because of the MC. The beneficial effects of the MC with regard to the beam diameter become increasingly prominent at lower landing energies ranging down to 10 eV. A SEM using this MC can generate highly monochromatic (10 meV) electron probe beams with small size (5 nm) and low energy (100 eV), which indicates the additional possibility of a new surface electron microscope that uses phonon signals. Based on this theoretical investigation, the authors conclude that this MC can effectively improve the SEM's performance capabilities in the extra-low-energy region.

Optimum performance in electron and ion imaging instruments, such as electron microscopes and probe-forming instruments, in most cases depends on a compromise either between imaging errors due to spherical and chromatic aberrations and the diffraction error or between the imaging errors and the current in the image. These compromises result in the use of very small angular apertures. Reducing the spherical and chromatic aberration coefficients would permit the use of larger apertures with resulting improved performance, granted that other problems such as incorrect operation of the instrument or spurious disturbances do not interfere. One approach to correcting aberrations which has been investigated extensively is through the use of multipole electric and magnetic fields. Another approach involves the use of foil windows. However, a practical system for correcting spherical and chromatic aberration is not yet available.Our approach to correction of spherical and chromatic aberration makes use of an electrostatic electron mirror. Early studies of the properties of electron mirrors were done by Recknagel. More recently my colleagues and I have studied the properties of the hyperbolic electron mirror as a function of the ratio of accelerating voltage to mirror voltage. The spherical and chromatic aberration coefficients of the mirror are of opposite sign (overcorrected) from those of electron lenses (undercorrected). This important property invites one to find a way to incorporate a correcting mirror in an electron microscope. Unfortunately, the parts of the beam heading toward and away from the mirror must be separated. A transverse magnetic field can separate the beams, but in general the deflection aberrations degrade the image. The key to avoiding the detrimental effects of deflection aberrations is to have deflections take place at image planes. Our separating system is shown in Fig. 1. Deflections take place at the separating magnet and also at two additional magnetic deflectors. The uncorrected magnified image formed by the objective lens is focused in the first deflector, and relay lenses transfer the image to the separating magnet. The interface lens and the hyperbolic mirror acting in zoom fashion return the corrected image to the separating magnet, and the second set of relay lenses transfers the image to the final deflector, where the beam is deflected onto the projection axis.

A new aberration-corrected, energy-filtered LEEM/PEEM instrument II. Operation and results

Aberration characteristics of immersion lenses for LVSEM