The Scanning Electron Microscope rasters a focused beam of electrons across a small area of a sample. This focused electron beam generates several useful transitions depending upon the electron beam energy and the sample material. Secondary electrons are a type of low energy electrons that are the primary transition used in SEM analysis. The secondary electrons are useful for imaging the topography of a sample’s surface.

Backscatter electrons are another useful method of analysis. These electrons are the results of reflected (or backscattered) primary beam electrons from the sample. Backscattered electrons are useful for compositional analysis since their yield increases with the sample’s atomic mass. Characteristic X-rays are generated by the primary electron beam through interaction with sample’s atoms. The energy of these x-rays can be used to identify the parent atom. The technique used to identify the characteristic x-ray is Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) . Other useful SEM techniques, particularly for the IC analyses, are voltage contrast and Electron Beam Induced Current (EBIC).

Silicon Cert offers these SEM and EDS services to our customers using our Amray 1610 SEM with LaB6 filament.

SEM Applications include:

Failure Analysis
• Contamination identification
• Micro-crack / void location
• ESD damage documentation
• Mechanical damage documentation

Quality Control Evaluations
• Dimension verifications
• Plating / coating thickness
• Weld evaluation

Material Analysis
• Elemental analysis
• Surface roughness
• Metallurgical / interface evaluation