Abstract
The effects of accelerating voltage and collection angle on the mean free path for all inelastic electron scattering (λp), which is an important parameter for determining specimen thickness by using electron energy-loss spectroscopy, were investigated with crystalline Si and amorphous SiO2. First, thickness of Si film was measured with the convergent-beam electron diffraction method, while thickness of SiO2 particles was estimated from their spherical shape. Then from electron energy-loss spectra, λp was evaluated for Si film and SiO2 particles by changing the accelerating voltage (100-300 kV) and the collection angle for the scattered electrons. Under the condition of no objective aperture, λp for Si film and SiO2 particles was found to increase with the increase of accelerating voltage and to take values of 180 ± 6 nm (Si) and 247 ± 8 nm (SiO2) at 300 kV. Also, it was found that λp in both cases decreases drastically with the increase of collection angle in the range smaller than 25 mrad, while it tends to take a constant value at the collection angle larger than 25 mrad at 200 kV.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 143-148 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Electron Microscopy |
Volume | 51 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2002 Jul 8 |
Keywords
- Accelerating voltage
- Collection angle
- Electron energy-loss spectroscopy
- Mean free path for inelastic scattering
- Silicon
- Silicon dioxide
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Instrumentation