Comparison of multilayered nanowire imaging by SEM and Helium Ion Microscopy

The helium ion microscope (HeIM) is capable of probe sizes smaller than SEM and, with intrinsically small ion/sample interaction volumes, may therefore potentially offer higher spatial resolution secondary electron (SE) imaging of nanostructures. Here 55 nm diameter CoPt/Pt multilayered nanowires ha...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physics. Conference series 2010-07, Vol.241 (1), p.012080
Main Authors: Inkson, B J, Liu, X, Peng, Y, Jepson, M A E, Rodenburg, C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cobalt base alloys
Cobalt compounds
Helium ions
Image contrast
Intermetallic compounds
Nanowires
Physics
Platinum compounds
Scanning electron microscopy
Spatial resolution
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The helium ion microscope (HeIM) is capable of probe sizes smaller than SEM and, with intrinsically small ion/sample interaction volumes, may therefore potentially offer higher spatial resolution secondary electron (SE) imaging of nanostructures. Here 55 nm diameter CoPt/Pt multilayered nanowires have been imaged by HeIM, SEM and TEM. It is found that there is an increased resolution of nanowire surface topography in HeIM SE images compared to SEM, however there is a reduction of materials contrast of the alternating Pt and CoPt layers. This can be attributed to the increased contribution of surface contamination layers to the ion-induced SE signal, and carbon is also observed to grow on the nanowires under prolonged HeIM scanning.
ISSN:1742-6596
1742-6588
1742-6596
DOI:10.1088/1742-6596/241/1/012080