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The Applications of In Situ Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy to the Study of Electron Beam Nanofabrication

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2009

Shiahn J. Chen ,
David G. Howitt ,
Brian C. Gierhart ,
Rosemary L. Smith  and
Scott D. Collins
Shiahn J. Chen
Affiliation:
MicroInstruments and Systems Laboratory, Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology, University of Maine Orono, ME 04469, USA
David G. Howitt
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Brian C. Gierhart
Affiliation:
MicroInstruments and Systems Laboratory, Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology, University of Maine Orono, ME 04469, USA
Rosemary L. Smith
Affiliation:
MicroInstruments and Systems Laboratory, Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology, University of Maine Orono, ME 04469, USA
Scott D. Collins*
Affiliation:
MicroInstruments and Systems Laboratory, Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology, University of Maine Orono, ME 04469, USA
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: scott.collins@maine.edu
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Abstract

An in situ electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) technique has been developed to investigate the dynamic processes associated with electron-beam nanofabrication on thin membranes. In this article, practical applications germane to e-beam nanofabrication are illustrated with a case study of the drilling of nanometer-sized pores in silicon nitride membranes. This technique involves successive acquisitions of the plasmon-loss and the core-level ionization-loss spectra in real time, both of which provide the information regarding the hole-drilling kinetics, including two respective rates for total mass loss, individual nitrogen and silicon element depletion, and the change of the atomic bonding environment. In addition, the in situ EELS also provides an alternative method for endpoint detection with a potentially higher time resolution than by imaging. On the basis of the time evolution of in situ EELS spectra, a qualitative working model combining knock-on sputtering, irradiation-induced mass transport, and phase separation can be proposed.

Keywords

in situ EELSnanofabricationsilicon nitridenanopore
Type
Materials Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , June 2009 , pp. 204 - 212
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2009

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References

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