Resolving the Electron Plume within a Scanning Electron Microscope

Alcorn, Francis M.; Perez, Christopher; Smoll, Eric James; Hoang, Lauren; Nitta, Frederick U.; Mannix, Andrew J.; Talin, Albert Alec; Nakakura, Craig Yoshimi; Chandler, David W.; Kumar, Suhas

doi:10.1021/acsnano.4c10527

Title: Resolving the Electron Plume within a Scanning Electron Microscope

Journal Article · 26 November 2024 · ACS Nano

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c10527 · OSTI ID:2481175

^[1]; Perez, Christopher ^[2]; Smoll, Eric James ^[1];

^[3]; Nitta, Frederick U. ^[3];

^[3];

^[1]; Nakakura, Craig Yoshimi ^[4]; Chandler, David W. ^[1]; Kumar, Suhas ^[1]

Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a century-old technique, is today a ubiquitous method of imaging the surface of nanostructures. However, most SEM detectors simply count the number of secondary electrons from a material of interest, and thereby overlook the rich material information contained within them. Here, by simple modifications to a standard SEM tool, we resolve the momentum and energy information on secondary electrons by directly imaging the electron plume generated by the electron beam of the SEM. Leveraging these spectroscopic imaging capabilities, our technique is able to image lateral electric fields across a prototypical silicon p–n junctions and to distinguish differently doped regions, even when buried beyond depths typically accessible by SEM. Intriguingly, the subsurface sensitivity of this technique reveals unexpectedly strong surface band bending within nominally passivated semiconductor structures, providing useful insights for complex layered component designs, in which interfacial dynamics dictate device operation. Further, these capabilities for noninvasive, multimodal probing of complicated electronic components are crucial in today’s electronic manufacturing but is largely inaccessible even with sophisticated techniques. These results show that seemingly simple SEM can be extended to probe complex and useful material properties.

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Research Organization:: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0003525; SC0021070

OSTI ID:: 2481175

Report Number(s):: SAND--2024-16593J

Journal Information:: ACS Nano, Journal Name: ACS Nano Journal Issue: 49 Vol. 18; ISSN 1936-0851

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: Resolving the Electron Plume within a Scanning Electron Microscope

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