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Test Objects with a Rectangular Profile for SEM. 5. Mechanisms of SEM Signal Formation

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Abstract—

The mechanisms of signal formation on scanning electron microscopes operating in the mode of slow secondary electron collection are considered. Silicon grooves with a rectangular profile are used as test objects. The results of experiments with parallel and inclined positions of the electron-probe axis relative to the groove walls are presented. The occurrence of two mechanisms of secondary electron emission is demonstrated. One mechanism is the ionization of test object atoms by incident electrons. The second mechanism is based on the effect of the shaking off of electrons from surface states by an incident electron. It is shown that in experiments with a parallel position of the probe axis at probe-electron energies greater than 10 keV all signal parameters are determined by the shaking off effect. At probe-electron energies less than 10 keV, the signal parameters are characterized by the ionization mechanism of secondary electron generation. At an inclined position of the probe, it is possible to determine the contributions of each mechanism to the formation of secondary electrons. It is shown that the shaking off effect can contribute to the generation of secondary electrons more than the ionization mechanism.

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  1. Prokhorov General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    Yu. A. Novikov

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Translated by S. Rostovtseva

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Novikov, Y.A. Test Objects with a Rectangular Profile for SEM. 5. Mechanisms of SEM Signal Formation. J. Surf. Investig. 16, 806–819 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1027451022050147

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