Photons After Dark: Wave Optics in Scanning Electron Microscopy
Photons After Dark
Wave Optics in Scanning Electron Microscopy
Surya Kamal
Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, RIT
School of Physics & Astronomy, RIT
Abstract:
Better quality imaging is always desired by all optical instruments including the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Inside the SEM, an electron beam is generated by applying a voltage to the electron gun. The electron beam propagates through the SEM column and illuminates the specimen. Our research is the initial step oriented towards the end goal of obtaining better images by modeling the SEM column which contains the lens system needed for probe formation. This probe which scans the specimen to produce final images is one of the pivotal factors which decides fundamental resolution of a SEM. We have developed a simulation program based on wave optics of the electron beam and the lens system to predict variation in probe distribution under different operating conditions of a field-emission SEM. The program offers capabilities of introducing aberrations in the lens aperture, effects of the partial coherence of the source, noise, etc. and study their effects on the final probe and imaging. This kind of analytical tool would be very insightful for microscopists to closely understand the behavior of their microscopes and potentially design experimental and computational methods to overcome these limitations.
Speaker Bio:
Surya is a 4th-year Ph.D. Candidate in Imaging Science and a M.S. student in Physics at RIT. He works in the NanoImaging Lab with Prof. Richard Hailstone and Prof. Nathan Cahill and studies the wave nature of electron beams in electron microscopes. Before coming to RIT, he worked as a project associate at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and as an intern at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. He obtained his bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from the Vishwakarma Institute of Information Technology (University of Pune), India in 2016. He is the current SPIE President of the SPIE-OSA student chapter at RIT and the Regional Liaison for the Microscopy Society of America and is actively involved in organizing events for optics and microscopy education & outreach.
Intended Audience:
Beginners, undergraduates, graduates, and experts. Those with interest in the topic.
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