High Spatial Resolution Quantitative Electron Beam Microanalysis for Nanoscale Materials

Published

March 21, 2005

Author(s)

Dale E. Newbury, J H. Scott, Scott A. Wight, J T. Armstrong, John A. Small

Abstract

Transmission (TEM) and scanning electron microscopes (SEM) provide ideal platforms for electron and x-ray spectrometry to characterize nanoscale particles and nanostructured bulk materials. Electron spectrometry includes electron energy loss spectrometry (EELS) performed at high beam energy ({less than or equal to} 100 keV) in the TEM in its configuration as an analytical electron microscope (AEM) and Auger electron spectrometry (AES) applied in the low beam energy SEM ({less than or equal to} 5 keV). X-ray spectrometry can be applied in both the AEM and SEM. The AEM provides the best resolution, but can only be applied to electron transparent materials. Nanoscale particles may be examined directly without special preparation, but bulk materials must be modified to obtain thin sections, generally less than 100 nm. The low voltage SEM can be applied to the unmodified surface of an as-received material. Both electron and x-ray spectrometry provide predominantly elemental information, with some bonding information available in EELS. Quantitative analysis methods can be applied through sensitivity factors if standards are available, or through first principles calculations that consider signal generation, propagation and detection. The error budget for the sensitivity factor method consists mostly of the uncertainty in the standards and factors that arise from instrument stability. For first principles methods, uncertainties in cross sections and other physical parameters are the principal sources of error.

Citation

Handbook of Microscopy for Nanotechnology

Publisher Info

Springer Science, New York, NY

Pub Type

Book Chapters

Keywords

analytical electron microscopy, Auger electron spectrometry, electron energy loss spectrometry, electron probe x-ray microanalysis, energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry, quantitative analysis, scanning electron microscopy, x-ray microanalysis

Citation

Newbury, D. , Scott, J. , Wight, S. , Armstrong, J. and Small, J. (2005), High Spatial Resolution Quantitative Electron Beam Microanalysis for Nanoscale Materials, Handbook of Microscopy for Nanotechnology, Springer Science, New York, NY (Accessed April 19, 2024)