CHEM 391 2017

Materials Chemistry
Lecture 2: Electron microscopes
Interaction of High Energy (~kV) Electrons with Materials
Interaction of High Energy (~kV) Electrons with Materials
 Basic Electron Optics

• Electrons and ions are charged particles, they can be accelerated in a E field.

• The trajectory of an accelerated charged particle can be deflected by E and/or B

field.

• According to de Broglie, the accelerated (high energy) particles also behave like
waves.

Electron Optical Elements and Attachments

• Electron Sources

• Lenses

• Deflection Coils

• Stigmators

• Electron Detectors

• Attachments for photons or X-rays

 Electron Source
Generation of electrons that can be accelerated by high tension
to obtain the illuminating electron beam.
• Thermionic Gun
– triode or self-biasing gun
– W, LaB6, CeB6

• Field Emission Gun

– single crystal W

W LaB6 FEG

Comparison of Electron Sources

 Electron Source
Generation of electrons that can be accelerated by high tension
to obtain the illuminating electron beam.
• Thermionic Gun
– triode or self-biasing gun
– W, LaB6, CeB6

• Field Emission Gun

– single crystal W

W LaB6 FEG

Comparison of Electron Sources

Lens System of SEM

http://www4.nau.edu/microanalysis/microprobe-sem/instrumentation.html
Lens System of TEM

http://barrett-group.mcgill.ca/tutorials/nanotechnology/nano02.htm
 Some Components in EM

Lens System Condenser C1 and C2

• C1
– strong demagnifying lens
– spot size setting

• C2
– weak lens
– intensity control

Deflection Coils

• Provide means to shift or to tilt the electron beam, to correct for mechanical
misalignments of the optical system, and to obtain specific imaging effects
 Some Components in EM
Stigmators

• Provide means to correct for deficiencies in the magnetic lenses

• EM stigmators:
– At condenser, objective and diffraction lens (TEM)
– At condenser, objective (SEM)
– closely positioned to the lenses

with stigmators
 Some Components in EM
Secondary Electron (SE) Detector

Backscatter electron (BSE) detector

The SE detector produces a clear and focused topographical image of the sample.

The BSE detector is used to give elemental contrast in the sample.

A Brief Comparison

https://universe-review.ca/I11-41-microscopes.jpg
Scanning Electron Microscopy
 Conventional SEM

• Specimen at high vacuum – requires sample fixation and

dehydration or freezing.

• Charging can be minimized by coating sample with metal or

carbon or lowering the operating kV, although coating is not
required for field emission scanning electron microscopy.

JSM-7001F

http://www.jeol.com
 SEM images of nanostructured materials

ZnO nanowire Carbon nanotube array

 SEM images of nanowire device

SE mode BSE mode

SiN

Cr Si
Au

Pd
 SEM micromanipulators

microgripper

contact probe

microgripper

four point probe

Microscopy today, 16,16-18(2007)

Transmission Electron Microscopy
Interaction of high energy (~kV) electrons with materials
Types of TEM imaging

See details in: Trasmission electron microscopy, D. B. Williams and C. B.

Carter, Plenum Press, New York and London, 1996.
 Illustration of certain lens aberrations
c

(a) A perfect lens focuses a point source to a single

image point.

(b) Spherical aberration causes rays at higher angles to

be over-focused.

(c) Chromatic aberration causes rays at different

energies (indicated by color) to be focused differently.

Pennycook S.J.; Varela M.; Hetherington C.J.D.;

Kirkland A.I. MRS bulletin, 31, 35-43 (2006).
 Preparation of TEM samples

Membrane materials?

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