Detection System for Scanning Electron Microscope

The kind of information and the quality of the backscattered electron (BSE) images depend upon numerous features of the detector. Therefore, various types of detectors should be used simultaneously to obtain as much of information as possible. The detection system presented here contains a large area semiconductor detector and a BSE to secondary electrons (SE) converter system. These two different kinds of detectors give different BSE images. After subtracting the signal of a semiconductor detector from that of a converter system, an image with good topography and reduced material contrast can be achieved

Signal Mixing Technique for Backscattered Electrons in the Scanning Electron Microscope

Signal mixing technique using asymetrically placed backscattered electron detectors in a scanning electron microscope is presented in this paper. Two types of detectors have been used: a low-take off angle ring scintillation detector (placed around the specimen) and a wide-angle semiconductor detector (placed above the specimen). It has been shown that the discussed configuration gives good real topography in all directions on the specimen surface and also reduces significantly the pseudo-topography effect of flat grain boundaries

Electron Beam Induced Current Studies of Defect Induced Conductivity Inversion

Defect induced inversion of conductivity type was studied both at the surface and at a network of interfacially confined misfit dislocations in heteroepitaxial Si(Ge) on Si structures. The inversion was achieved by controlled contamination with Au and Ni metallic impurities introduced by diffusion from backside evaporated layers. A theoretical explanation of the defect electrical activity and the inversion effect is presented, along with temperature dependent beam induced current observations

Study of Structure Densification in TiO2TiO_2 Coatings Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering under Low Pressure of Oxygen Plasma Discharge

Current work presents results of studies on structural and optical properties of the $TiO_2$ thin films prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering. Oxide thin films were deposited from metallic targets using oxygen gas only instead of usually used mixture of Ar-$O_2$. Additionally, an increased amplitude of unipolar pulses powering the magnetron has been applied. It is shown that all prepared coatings were stoichiometric and by changing only the discharge voltage it is possible to influence the resulting structural phase and optical properties of prepared thin films. Depending on conditions of magnetron powering, $TiO_2$ thin films had either the anatase structure with refraction index n = 2.1 (λ = 500 nm) or a high temperature stable rutile structure with n = 2.52 (λ = 500 nm)