title: New system for secondary electron detection in variable-pressure scanning electron microscopy.
abstract: A novel secondary electron detection system combining a two-stage detector head and a differential pumping system is presented. The detector head consisted of a scintillation Everhart-Thornley detector and a microsphere plate, separating it from the lower vacuum in the intermediate chamber (below 0.1 mbar). The system was arranged asymmetrically, which should contribute to a lower gas leakage through the plate and a longer life span of the plate. The system offered all the advantages of the scintillator detector in a wide range of gas pressures, from high vacuum to those of the order of 10 mbar, typical of high-pressure scanning electron microscopy.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Microsystem Electronics and Photonics, Wroclaw University of Technology, ul. Janiszewskiego 11/17, 50-372 Wroclaw, Poland. witold.slowko@pwr.wroc.pl
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Slówko