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[January 2003]
Analytical Thermal FESEM from Hitachi
The recently announced S-4300SE from Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation is an exceptionally versatile analytical FESEM, claims the company. It features a thermal Schottky emission electron source, which combines high brightness with excellent resolution and exceptional long beam stability, adds Hitachi. Resolution figures of 1.5nm at 30kV and 5.0nm at 1kV can be achieved.
The S-4300SE can be equipped with a range of analytical accessories, including e-beam lithography, cathodoluminescence, EBSP and EDX. This is said to make it particularly suitable for applications in the semiconductor industry and in the materials and biological sciences.
The cathodoluminescence accessory allows the analysis of precipitates, crystal distortion and defects in samples by analysing the wavelength and intensity of light emitted from micro-size areas illuminated by the electron beam. It is also possible to compare areas of light emission with the surface morphology from conventional secondary electron images.
The beam blanking accessory makes it possible to use the S-4300SE to write patterns directly into photoresist without using masks. Pattern transfer resolution of less than 0.1 micron can be achieved.
The production of electron backscattered diffraction patterns can be useful in both materials science and semiconductor applications. They can be used for the investigation of polycrystalline microstructures, including crystallographic texture, grain boundary analysis, relationships between phases and qualitative strain mapping. In semiconductor applications, they can be used to study the effects of microtexture on Mean Time to Failure of interconnects and thin films.
ENDS