Design of Low-Energy Modest-Resolution (sub-50 nm) Microcolumn Easy to Fabricate

Abstract

The electrodes of the electron optical microcolumn are precisely fabricated using the micro-electro-mechanical systems technology, which makes it possible to minimize the electron beam size as well as the optical aberrations compared with those of the conventional electron columns. It is, however, necessary to make the apertures of the electrodes very small to obtain high resolution and it takes lots of time and effort to align the apertures of the electrodes. In this work, we have designed a new structure of electron optical microcolumn in which the apertures of the electrodes are relatively large, so the alignment is very easy to carry out while maintaining the modest resolving power (sub 50-nm).