An integrated solid-state solution for secondary electron detection

In this paper, a novel integrated solid-state solution is proposed to replace the vacuum-based photomultiplier tube and other constituent components of the Everhart–Thornley detector, which has been widely used for secondary electron detection in scanning electron microscopy. Compared to the convent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Analog integrated circuits and signal processing 2014-05, Vol.79 (2), p.395-411
Main Authors: Chuah, Joon Huang, Holburn, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Circuits
Circuits and Systems
CMOS
Cost effectiveness
Detectors
Electrical Engineering
Engineering
Gain
Integrated circuits
Noise levels
Signal,Image and Speech Processing
Voltage
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Summary:In this paper, a novel integrated solid-state solution is proposed to replace the vacuum-based photomultiplier tube and other constituent components of the Everhart–Thornley detector, which has been widely used for secondary electron detection in scanning electron microscopy. Compared to the conventional setup, this integrated circuit offers potential merits such as higher cost effectiveness, smaller dimensions, lower voltage and power requirements, and better circuit integration. It was designed and fabricated in an optically-enhanced Austriamicrosystems 0.35 μm CMOS process technology. Results from simulations and experiments have shown that the solid-state detector can operate with a maximum transimpedance gain of 170 dBΩ and minimum bandwidth of 3.6 MHz. It can detect signals with optical power as low as 10 nW while giving a minimum signal-to-noise ratio of 24 dB regardless of gain configuration.
ISSN:0925-1030
1573-1979
DOI:10.1007/s10470-013-0234-4