Shot noise-mitigated secondary electron imaging with ion count-aided microscopy

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Agarwal, Akshay; Kasaei, Leila; He, Xinglin; Kitichotkul, Ruangrawee; Hitit, Oguz Kagan; Peng, Minxu; Schultz, J. Albert; Feldman, Leonard C.; Goyal, Vivek K.
• 署名单位: Boston University; Rutgers University System; Rutgers University New Brunswick
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-10450
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2401246121
• 发表日期: 2024-07-30
• 关键词: detector; cells

摘要

Modern science is dependent on imaging on the nanoscale, often achieved through processes that detect secondary electrons created by a highly focused incident charged particle beam. Multiple types of measurement noise limit the ultimate trade-off between the image quality and the incident particle dose, which can preclude useful imaging of dose-sensitive samples. Existing methods to improve image quality do not fundamentally mitigate the noise sources. Furthermore, barriers to assigning a physically meaningful scale make the images qualitative. Here, we introduce ion count-aided microscopy (ICAM), which is a quantitative imaging technique that uses statistically principled estimation of the secondary electron yield. With a readily implemented change in data collection, ICAM substantially reduces source shot noise. In helium ion microscopy, we demonstrate 3x dose reduction and a good match between these empirical results and theoretical performance predictions. ICAM facilitates imaging of fragile samples and may make imaging with heavier particles more attractive.