title: An experimental model of beam broadening in the variable pressure scanning electron microscope.
abstract: In the variable pressure scanning electron microscope (VP-SEM) the incident electrons pass through a gaseous environment and the beam is scattered by these interactions. We show here that the experimental intensity profile of the scattered beam can be described as Gaussian in form to a high level of accuracy. This provides a rapid means of accounting for the effects of beam scatter in imaging and microanalysis because the standard deviation of the Gaussian is a simple function of parameters such as working distance, beam energy, gas type and pressure.
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscope Facility, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996-0840, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaohu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Joy