TY - JOUR
T1 - Electron-beam-induced charging of an Al2O3 nanotip studied using off-axis electron holography
AU - Zheng, Fengshan
AU - Beleggia, Marco
AU - Migunov, Vadim
AU - Pozzi, Giulio
AU - Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s)
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Electrostatic charging of specimens during electron, photon or ion irradiation is a complicated and poorly understood phenomenon, which can affect the acquisition and interpretation of experimental data and alter the functional properties of the constituent materials. It is usually linked to secondary electron emission, but also depends on the geometry and electrical properties of the specimen. Here, we use off-axis electron holography in the transmission electron microscope to study electron-beam-induced charging of an insulating Al2O3 nanotip on a conducting support. The measurements are performed under parallel electron illumination conditions as a function of specimen temperature, electron dose, primary electron energy and surface cleanliness. We observe a lack of reproducibility of charge density measurements after cycling the specimen temperature. Surprisingly, we find both positively and negatively charged regions in closely adjacent parts of the specimen.
AB - Electrostatic charging of specimens during electron, photon or ion irradiation is a complicated and poorly understood phenomenon, which can affect the acquisition and interpretation of experimental data and alter the functional properties of the constituent materials. It is usually linked to secondary electron emission, but also depends on the geometry and electrical properties of the specimen. Here, we use off-axis electron holography in the transmission electron microscope to study electron-beam-induced charging of an insulating Al2O3 nanotip on a conducting support. The measurements are performed under parallel electron illumination conditions as a function of specimen temperature, electron dose, primary electron energy and surface cleanliness. We observe a lack of reproducibility of charge density measurements after cycling the specimen temperature. Surprisingly, we find both positively and negatively charged regions in closely adjacent parts of the specimen.
KW - AlO
KW - Off-axis electron holography
KW - Secondary electron emission
KW - Specimen charging
KW - Transmission electron microscopy
U2 - 10.1016/j.ultramic.2022.113593
DO - 10.1016/j.ultramic.2022.113593
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 35944328
AN - SCOPUS:85135919723
SN - 0304-3991
VL - 241
JO - Ultramicroscopy
JF - Ultramicroscopy
M1 - 113593
ER -