High Spatial Resolution EDS Mapping of Nanoparticles at Low Accelerating Voltage

In conventional energy-dispersive spectroscopy/scanning-electron microscopy (EDS/SEM) analysis, the pear-shaped interaction volume of incident electrons in the bulk sample determines spatial resolution and the actual scope of EDS analysis is usually a few cubic microns. Lowering the accelerating voltage can reduce effectively the interaction volume of the electron beam. In this study, Monte Carlo (MC) simulation was used to analyze effectively the actual interaction between low-energy incident electrons and nanoparticles. MC x ray, a new Monte Carlo program, was used to further simulate EDS mapping of Ni nanoparticles on the top of an Al2O3 matrix at an accelerating voltage of 3 kV, and the theoretical spatial resolution was calculated to be approximately 10 nm. In addition, EDS mapping images of 17-nm Ni nanoparticles were successfully acquired at high spatial resolution similar to the theoretical value by adjusting the operating conditions for SEM-EDS analysis, including the use of immersion objective lens, the removal of electron trap and collimator, and the reduction of working distance as well as detector distance.