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Calculated sputtering and atomic displacement cross-sections for applications to medium voltage analytical electron microscopy

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5833240
The development of medium voltage electron microscopes having high brightness electron sources and ultra-high vacuum environments has been anticipated by the microscopy community now for several years. The advantages of such a configuration have been discussed to great lengths, while the potential disadvantages have for the most part been neglected. The most detrimental of these relative to microcharacterization are the effects of electron sputtering and atomic displacement to the local specimen composition. These effects have in the past been considered mainly in the high voltage electron microscope regime and generally were ignored in lower voltage instruments. Recent experimental measurements have shown that the effects of electron sputtering as well as radiation induced segregation can be observed in conventional transmission electron microscopes. It is, therefore, important to determine at what point the effects will begin to manifest themselves in the new generation of medium voltage analytical electron microscopes. In this manuscript we present new calculations which allow the individual experimentalist to determine the potential threshold levels for a particular elemental system and thus avoid the dangers of introducing artifacts during microanalysis. 12 refs., 3 figs.
Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
5833240
Report Number(s):
CONF-870733-14; ON: DE88002904
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English