Comprehensive performance evaluation of electron microscopy empowers local companies in Korea

The Korea Institute of Standards and Sciences (KRISS, President Hyun-Min Park) has succeeded in developing a high-performance energy analyzer, which is a key technology for determining the performance of a microscope. microelectronics. This service will be provided to local equipment companies to promote the advanced microscope industry.

The performance of an electron microscope depends on the characteristics of the electron source generating the electron beam. This is because the electron beam is focused on a lens to observe the specimen. To enable precise focus, energy the distribution of electrons should be uniform, even when observing extremely small samples. Therefore, it is important to accurately measure the energy width, an indicator of the uniformity of the energy distribution, to develop high-performance electron microscopy.

Many local companies have successfully developed electron microscopes, but have to rely on the numbers available in the literature instead of actual measurements, as there are no energy analyzers capable of measuring the luminosity. energy expansion. The conventional approach does not allow for comprehensive performance validation, as small performance differences between individual microscopes are ignored. For companies to enter the high-performance electron microscope market, they must be able to obtain accurate measurements of the energy width.

The KRISS team developed the design technology from simulations carried out in 2019 and successfully developed a pre-lens retardation field energy analyzer. The production cost is relatively cheap, around a few million won, and the device can measure a power distribution expansion of 13.8 meV. This energy analyzer can be used to perform evaluations of advanced research equipment, including scanning electron microscopes. It is only 60 mm in size, making it useful as a stand-alone analyzer, or it can be mounted inside existing equipment, for microscopes that evaluate electron beam performance. integrated.

Energy analyzers can mainly be divided into two types. Hemispherical electronic energy analyzers offer superior energy resolution, but are expensive and are much larger in size (700 mm). The grid-type braking field energy analyzer is compact and affordable, but not sufficient for performance evaluation as its energy resolution exceeds 300 meV.

In addition to using the existing angular current density measurement test, KRISS has established an energy width measurement platform and launched a testing service for local companies in August. Later this year , KRISS plans to establish an energy resolution performance evaluation platform to evaluate the effects of magnetic fields, noise and vibration.

In-Yong Park, team leader of the KRISS Scientific Instrument Performance Evaluation Team, said: “In the past, Korea lacked the technological self-reliance to achieve high performance. electron microscope despite their importance in materials, parts and biotechnology. New platform for comprehensive performance evaluation, from individual microscope components to entire systems, will pave the way for local companies to enter the high-performance sector microscope market.”

Provided by the National Science and Technology Research Council