Advanced electron microscopy needs for nanotechnology and nanomanufacturing

Postek, Michael T.; Villarrubia, John S.; Vladár, András

doi:10.1116/1.2135795

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 13 publications

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“…Advances in fundamental nanoscience, development of nanomaterials, and eventually manufacturing of nanometer-scale products all depend to some extent on the capability to accurately and reproducibly measure dimensions, properties, and performance characteristics at the nanoscale. Scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) have been used in this application for many years (Postek et al, 2004, 2005). Since progress in nanoscience and nanotechnology has been rather rapid recently, the dimensions of nanostructures and nanoobjects have shrunk significantly.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Real-Time Scanning Charged-Particle Microscope Image Composition with Correction of Drift

2010

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In this article, a new scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image composition technique is described, which can significantly reduce drift related image corruptions. Drift distortion commonly causes blur and distortions in the SEM images. Such corruption ordinarily appears when conventional image-acquisition methods, i.e., "slow scan" and "fast scan," are applied. The damage is often very significant; it may render images unusable for metrology applications, especially where subnanometer accuracy is required. The described correction technique works with a large number of quickly taken frames, which are properly aligned and then composed into a single image. Such image contains much less noise than the individual frames, while the blur and deformation is minimized. This technique also provides useful information about changes of the sample position in time, which may be applied to investigate the drift properties of the instrument without a need of additional equipment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Real-Time Scanning Charged-Particle Microscope Image Composition with Correction of Drift

2010

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Unmasking the Resolution–Throughput Tradespace of Focused‐Ion‐Beam Machining

Madison

Villarrubia

Liao

et al. 2022

Adv Funct Materials

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Focused‐ion‐beam machining is a powerful process to fabricate complex nanostructures, often through a sacrificial mask that enables milling beyond the resolution limit of the ion beam. However, current understanding of this super‐resolution effect is empirical in the spatial domain and nonexistent in the temporal domain. This article reports the primary study of this fundamental tradespace of resolution and throughput. Chromia functions well as a masking material due to its smooth, uniform, and amorphous structure. An efficient method of in‐line metrology enables characterization of ion‐beam focus by scanning electron microscopy. Fabrication and characterization of complex test structures through chromia and into silica probe the response of the bilayer to a focused beam of gallium cations, demonstrating super‐resolution factors of up to 6 ± 2 and improvements to volume throughput of at least factors of 42 ± 2, with uncertainties denoting 95% coverage intervals. Tractable theory models the essential aspects of the super‐resolution effect for various nanostructures. Application of the new tradespace increases the volume throughput of machining Fresnel lenses by a factor of 75, enabling the introduction of projection standards for optical microscopy. These results enable paradigm shifts of sacrificial masking from empirical to engineering design and from prototyping to manufacturing.

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