V. B. Mityukhlyaev

Reference material for transmission electron microscope calibration

We propose a new type of reference material as a magnification standard of a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and a scanning transmission electron microscope. The reference material represents a thin cross-section of a silicon relief structure with certified sizes of its elements. It is fabricated using ion milling. Such reference material can be used for high microscope magnifications (by direct observation of the lattice), as well as for moderate magnifications (around 30 000 times).

Nanorelief elements in reference measures for scanning electron microscopy

The single elements of relief (protrusions and steps) fabricated by anisotropic etching of the surface of the silicon wafer congruent the crystallographic plane (100) in the scanning electron microscope have been studied. The image registration in the low energy secondary electron collection mode was carried out, and the influence of the probe electron energy and its diameter on the microscope signal formation by relief elements scanning was studied. The electron beam energy varied at the range of 0.3 - 20 keV, the probe diameter changed in the limits of 14 - 500 nm. The widths of upper bases of protrusions varied within 14 - 500 nm. The correlation analysis of experimental results, carried out by the authors, demonstrate high quality of the structures studied.

Novel method for dimensional measurements of nanorelief elements based on electron probe defocusing in a scanning electron microscope

In this paper, we propose a new method of measuring parameters of features of relief nanostructures. The method is based on the dependence of the length of the control intervals between certain bend points on video signal curves on the effective diameter of an electron probe. These video signals are obtained in the secondary electron imaging mode of a scanning electron microscope. Variation of the effective diameter of the electron probe is achieved by changing the microscope focus. The above dependences can be approximated by linear functions for a number of relief nanostructures, including the pitch structures of single crystal silicon with various profiles of the relief features, resist masks, etc. For appropriate choice of control intervals, the use of a constant term in such linear functions enables one to determine the size of relief features.

Test object for calibrating the transmission electron microscope

A new test object for calibrating the transmission electron microscope and scanning transmission microscope is suggested. The test was fabricated by means of cutting the silicon relief structure with the attested sizes of relief elements, which allowed us to use it both in the range of large magnifications (with the direct observation of the crystal lattice) and in the range of medium (near 30000) magnifications.

Advance in dimensional measurements of nano-objects based on defocusing of the electron probe of a scanning electron microscope

New results for dimensional measurements of nanostructures obtained using the method of defocusing of the SEM electron probe are presented. The method is extended to nanostructures representing the protrusions of the trapezoidal form with the small size of the top base and the features (protrusions and trenches) with nearly vertical sidewalls. It is also shown that the method can be applied for measurements of geometric parameters of features located on resist masks as well as of individual nanoparticles.

New reference material for transmission electron microscope calibration

We propose a new type of reference material as a magnification standard of transmission electron microscope and a scanning transmission electron microscope. The reference material represents a thin cross-section of a silicon relief structure with certified sizes of its elements. It is fabricated using ion milling. Such reference material can be used for high microscope magnifications (by direct observation of the lattice), as well as for moderate magnifications (around 30,000 times).