Low voltage scanning electron microscopy of interplanetary dust particlesThe resolution of available low-voltage SEM (LVSEM) models used in the characterization of interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) is limited by a number of factors including energy spread in the electron source, beam brightness, scanning electron detector geometry, and various lens aberrations. This paper describes an improved model of LVSEM which offers an increased resolution at low voltage. The improvements include a cold cathode FE source which has an extremely low inherent energy spread and high brightness, a second condenser lens to converge the beam and maintain an optimum aperture half-angle, and a detector optimized for low-voltage scanning-electron collection. To reduce lens aberrations, the specimen is immersed in the objective lens field. The features of several IDP samples observed using the images obtained with this LVSEM model are described.
Document ID
19880023715
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Blake, D. F. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Bunch, T. E. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Reilly, T. W. (Hitachi Scientific Instruments Mountain View, CA, United States)
Brownlee, D. E. (Washington, University Seattle, United States)