Low Voltage SEM

Overview

Operating an SEM at a low accelerating voltage offers advantages for less to non-conductive materials and improved visibility of surface details. Low voltages are typically those below 5kV, with improved SEM technology allowing for even lower voltages, down to 100s of volts.

Theory

The accelerating voltage (or acceleration voltage or landing energy) of an electron beam controls, among other things, the size and depth of the interaction volume. With a smaller interaction volume, signal is generated from a smaller region of the sample. Therefore, surface details are more visible. In addition, the reduced beam energy tends to reduce charge buildup.

Equipment

Low voltage SEM can be performed on any of the available SEMs at the NCF:

• JEOL 7500F HRSEM]
• TFS Quanta 600 FEG ESEM
• TESCAN S8000X FIB/SEM