Scanning Electron Microscope

Description

This tender concerns the acquisition of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) for a university facility that provides access to an extensive suite of nanofabrication and characterization tools as one of its core purposes. Lot 1: This tender concerns the acquisition of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) for a university facility that provides access to an extensive suite of nanofabrication and characterisation tools as one of its core purposes. The SEM will be a much needed upgrade of the current SEM capability in the lab. As such, only a high-end instrument with a field emission source offering high emission at low energy spread will be able to provide the necessary the state-of the art lateral image resolution of 0.8 nm or better at 15 kV acceleration voltage and 0.9 nm or better at 1 kV acceleration voltage (with no beam deceleration/sample bias applied) using the in-column SE detector. As the SEM will cover the most challenging applications in the lab, the list of requirements that need to be met is very extensive. Firstly, the performance at low acceleration voltages must be particularly good as this mode of operation is crucially important for a vast number of applications. Likewise, to ensure ideal imaging conditions free of hydrocarbon contamination, the chamber must be equipped with a chamber-mounted plasma cleaner and if possible, a fully integrated airlock system to increase sample throughput. Secondly, the instrument must also host a broad selection of advanced electron detectors in addition to the standard in-chamber and in-column secondary electron (SE) detectors for high vacuum conditions. For instance, to qualify subtle material contrast differences, we need in-column energy selective detection of backscatter electrons (BSE's) emerging from completely non-conducting samples that traditionally requires some kind of capability to efficiently suppress the build-up of charges produced by the imaging process. To qualify the same kind of samples we need the alternative imaging path provided by the chamber-mounted (preferably retractable) BSE detector with annular diode detectors. Thirdly, to address an increasing number of applications relying on the precise manufacturing of ultra-thin membranes, our characterisation capability will improve dramatically with an annular STEM detector for high-resolution transmission measurements. Finally, we have a strong need to upgrade our ability to characterize nano-structures defined by electron beam lithography. The world-class performance of our E-Beam writer is simply not matched by our current SEM characterisation capability. The situation is especially challenging for line edge roughness measurements of sub 20 nanometre E-beam resist structures deposited onto 150 mm diameter non-conducting substrates. The SEM must have a solution for this application that does not require any kind of sample coating in order to reduce sample charging but delivers the required image resolution.