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Secondary Electron Detectors, Image Quality & Contrast

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

David Scharf
David Scharf*
Affiliation:
Scharf Microscopy, Los Angeles, CA, 90039
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Extract

The Secondary Electron Detector (SED) is the first link in the chain of image formation after the initial illumination of a specimen in a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), therefore it is most crucial that the efficiency of the SED be as great as possible in order to maximize Signal-to- Noise Ratio (S/N) as any imperfections, inadequacies, and noise are then amplified along with the signal by the subsequent electronic amplifiers in the signal chain.

In the Everhart-Thornley SED, matching the scintillator's output spectrum to the photomultiplier tube's photocathode spectral sensitivity is one factor along with other characteristics of the PM tube, like quantum efficiency and noise characteristics. Light-pipe material along with as optical coupling techniques are another factor which determines the overall efficiency of converting SE electron strikes on the scintillator to a video output signal.

Type
New Trends in Scanning Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 4 , Issue S2: Proceedings: Microscopy & Microanalysis '98, Microscopy Society of America 56th Annual Meeting, Microbeam Analysis Society 32nd Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia July 12-16, 1998 , July 1998 , pp. 256 - 257
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

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References

1.Scharf, D., U.S. Patent No. 5, 212, 383 (1994)Google Scholar