Modelling of electron energy-loss spectroscopy detection limits

An effective use of electron energy loss spectroscopy for chemical characterization of selected areas in the electron microscope can only be achieved with the development of quantitative measurements capabilities.The experimental assembly, which is sketched in Fig.l, has therefore been carried out. It comprises four main elements.The analytical transmission electron microscope is a conventional microscope fitted with a Castaing and Henry dispersive unit (magnetic prism and electrostatic mirror). Recent modifications include the improvement of the vacuum in the specimen chamber (below 10-6 torr) and the adaptation of a new electrostatic mirror.The detection system, similar to the one described by Hermann et al (1), is located in a separate chamber below the fluorescent screen which visualizes the energy loss spectrum. Variable apertures select the electrons, which have lost an energy AE within an energy window smaller than 1 eV, in front of a surface barrier solid state detector RTC BPY 52 100 S.Q. The saw tooth signal delivered by a charge sensitive preamplifier (decay time of 5.10-5 S) is amplified, shaped into a gaussian profile through an active filter and counted by a single channel analyser.

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Trends in Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100078675 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 228-229

Author(s):

C. Colliex ◽

P. Trebbia

Keyword(s):

Energy Loss ◽

Electron Energy ◽

Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy ◽

Materials Science ◽

Analytical Technique ◽

Recent Developments ◽

Quantitative Results ◽

Electron Microscopes ◽

Electron Energy Loss ◽

Primary Electrons

The physical foundations for the use of electron energy loss spectroscopy towards analytical purposes, seem now rather well established and have been extensively discussed through recent publications. In this brief review we intend only to mention most recent developments in this field, which became available to our knowledge. We derive also some lines of discussion to define more clearly the limits of this analytical technique in materials science problems.The spectral information carried in both low ( 0<ΔE<100eV ) and high ( >100eV ) energy regions of the loss spectrum, is capable to provide quantitative results. Spectrometers have therefore been designed to work with all kinds of electron microscopes and to cover large energy ranges for the detection of inelastically scattered electrons (for instance the L-edge of molybdenum at 2500eV has been measured by van Zuylen with primary electrons of 80 kV). It is rather easy to fix a post-specimen magnetic optics on a STEM, but Crewe has recently underlined that great care should be devoted to optimize the collecting power and the energy resolution of the whole system.

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Signal/Noise Ratio and Elemental Detectivity by Eels

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100054893 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

pp. 488-489

Author(s):

R. F. Egerton

Keyword(s):

Energy Loss ◽

Electron Energy ◽

Elemental Analysis ◽

Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy ◽

Emission Spectroscopy ◽

X Ray ◽

Signal Noise ◽

Characteristic Signal ◽

Noise Ratio ◽

Electron Energy Loss

An important parameter governing the sensitivity and accuracy of elemental analysis by electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) or by X-ray emission spectroscopy is the signal/noise ratio of the characteristic signal.

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Quantitative Electron Energy Loss Mapping

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100118898 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 43 ◽

pp. 404-405

Author(s):

R.D. Leapman ◽

C.R. Swyt

Keyword(s):

Energy Loss ◽

Electron Energy ◽

Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy ◽

Elemental Concentration ◽

Core Loss ◽

Elemental Distribution ◽

Electron Energy Loss

The intensity of a characteristic electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) image does not, in general, directly reflect the elemental concentration. In fact, the raw core loss image can give a misleading impression of the elemental distribution. This is because the measured core edge signal depends on the amount of plural scattering which can vary significantly from region to region in a sample. Here, we show how the method for quantifying spectra due to Egerton et al. can be extended to maps.

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Stopping-power determination for compound by EELS

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100172474 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 52 ◽

pp. 948-949 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David C. Joy ◽

Suichu Luo ◽

John R. Dunlap ◽

Dick Williams ◽

Siqi Cao

Keyword(s):

Energy Loss ◽

Electron Energy ◽

Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy ◽

Materials Science ◽

Average Energy ◽

Stopping Power ◽

Accurate Information ◽

Power Calculation ◽

Coulomb Collisions ◽

Electron Energy Loss

In Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, Biology and Medicine, it is very important to have accurate information about the stopping power of various media for electrons, that is the average energy loss per unit pathlength due to inelastic Coulomb collisions with atomic electrons of the specimen along their trajectories. Techniques such as photoemission spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy have been used in the measurements of electron-solid interaction. In this paper we present a comprehensive technique which combines experimental and theoretical work to determine the electron stopping power for various materials by electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS ). As an example, we measured stopping power for Si, C, and their compound SiC. The method, results and discussion are described briefly as below.The stopping power calculation is based on the modified Bethe formula at low energy:where Neff and Ieff are the effective values of the mean ionization potential, and the number of electrons participating in the process respectively. Neff and Ieff can be obtained from the sum rule relations as we discussed before3 using the energy loss function Im(−1/ε).

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Atomic resolution characterisation of interface structures by Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010014871x ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 51 ◽

pp. 576-577

Author(s):

N. D. Browning ◽

M. M. McGibbon ◽

M. F. Chisholm ◽

S. J. Pennycook

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Energy Loss ◽

Electron Energy ◽

Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy ◽

Imaging Technique ◽

Atomic Scale ◽

Atomic Resolution ◽

Reference Image ◽

The Impact ◽

Electron Energy Loss

The recent development of the Z-contrast imaging technique for the VG HB501 UX dedicated STEM, has added a high-resolution imaging facility to a microscope used mainly for microanalysis. This imaging technique not only provides a high-resolution reference image, but as it can be performed simultaneously with electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), can be used to position the electron probe at the atomic scale. The spatial resolution of both the image and the energy loss spectrum can be identical, and in principle limited only by the 2.2 Å probe size of the microscope. There now exists, therefore, the possibility to perform chemical analysis of materials on the scale of single atomic columns or planes.In order to achieve atomic resolution energy loss spectroscopy, the range over which a fast electron can cause a particular excitation event, must be less than the interatomic spacing. This range is described classically by the impact parameter, b, which ranges from ~10 Å for the low loss region of the spectrum to <1Å for the core losses.

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