Scanning and high resolution electron spectroscopy and imaging

An instrument for analysis of an electrically insulating specimen surface, comprising:

• an electron gun for producing a focused electron beam;
• an anode with an anode surface disposed to receive the focused electron beam so as to generate x-rays from an anode spot on the anode surface;
• rastering means for rastering the focused electron beam over the anode surface, thereby scanning the anode spot over the anode surface;
• focusing means receptive of at least a portion of the x-rays from the scanning anode spot for focusing an energy band of x-rays of predetermined energy as an x-ray spot on a pixel area scanning correspondingly over a selected area of the insulating specimen surface, such that photoelectron are emitted from the scanning pixel area with electron energies characteristic of chemical species at the pixel area;
• analyzer means receptive of at least a portion of the photoelectrons from the scanning of the pixel area for analyzing the electron energies and generating corresponding photoelectron signals;
• processing means for effecting a summing of the photoelectron signals across the selected area to generate information representative of chemical species summed over the selected area of the specimen surface;
• and
• blocking means for blocking information of peripheral areas of the selected area from the summing.

An instrument for analysis of a specimen surface, comprising:

• beam means for directing an energy beam to a pixel area on a specimen surface so as to emit electrons from the specimen surface, the electrons having ranges of lower energy and higher energy, the lower energy being representative of features of the specimen surface, and the higher energy being characteristic of chemical species in the specimen surface;
• rastering means for rastering the focused beam over the specimen surface, thereby scanning the pixel area of emitting electrons over the specimen surface;
• analyzer means receptive of electrons in a pass energy range for producing analyzer signals representative of said electrons;
• lens means receptive of electrons from the specimen surface for selectively transitting electrons to the analyzer means, the lens means modifying energies of the transitted electrons into the pass energy range;
• control means for selectively controlling the lens means to operate in a first mode or a second mode, wherein the first mode is to modify the electron energies from the lower energy range into the pass energy range, and the second mode being to modify the electron energies from the higher energy range into the pass energy range;
• and
• display means receptive of the analyzer signals and cooperative with the rastering means for displaying information representative of the specimen surface, whereby, in response to the control means, the information is representative of at least a portion of the features of the specimen surface for the first mode, or is characteristic of at least a portion of the chemical species in the specimen surface for the second mode.

An instrument for analysis of an insulating specimen surface, comprising:

• an electron gun for producing a focused electron beam;
• an anode with an anode surface disposed to receive the focused electron beam so as to generate x-rays from an anode spot on the anode surface;
• rastering means for rastering the focused electron beam over the anode surface, thereby scanning the anode spot over the anode surface;
• focusing means receptive of at least a portion of the x-rays from the scanning anode spot for focusing an energy band of x-rays of predetermined energy as an x-ray spot on a pixel area scanning correspondingly over the specimen surface, such that photoelectrons are emitted characteristically from the scanning pixel area;
• detector means receptive of the photoelectrons for generating corresponding photoelectron signals;
• flood means for flooding the specimen surface with low energy electrons during periodic intervals so as to neutralize loss of photoelectrons from the specimen surface;
• and
• processing means receptive of the photoelectron signals and cooperative with the rastering means so as to effect an imaging of the specimen surface, wherein the photoelectron signals are omitted from the imaging during the periodic intervals.