Lattice imaging at an accelerating voltage of 30kV using an in-lens type cold field-emission scanning electron microscope

We reported investigation of lattice resolution imaging using a Hitachi SU9000 conventional in-lens type cold field emission scanning electron microscope without an aberration corrector at an accelerating voltage of 30kV and discuss the electron optics and optimization of observation conditions for obtaining lattice resolution. It is possible to visualize lattice spacings that are much smaller than the diameter of the incident electron beam through the influence of the superior coherent performance of the cold field emission electron source. The defocus difference between STEM imaging and lattice imaging is found to increase with spherical aberration but it is possible to reduce the spherical aberration by reducing the focal length (f) of the objective lens combined with an experimental sample stage enabling a shorter distance between the objective lens pre-field and the sample. We demonstrate that it is possible to observe the STEM image and crystalline lattice simultaneously. STEM and Fourier transform images are detected for Si{222} lattice fringes and reflection spots, corresponding to 0.157nm. These results reveal the potential and possibility for a measuring technique with excellent precision as a theoretically exact dimension and established the ability to perform high precision measurements of crystal lattices for the structural characterization of semiconductor materials with minimal radiation beam damage. •We investigated the lattice resolution imaging using a conventional in-lens FE-SEM.•STEM images at 30kV are detected for Si222 lattice fringe, corresponding to 0.157nm.•These results demonstrate the ability to perform high precision measurements.