Modern STEM EBIC: Emerging Modes and Methods

In use since the 1960’s [1], electron beam-induced current (EBIC) imaging is a common tool for mapping electric fields in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). In the “standard” EBIC mode, current is generated through electron-hole pair separation in local electric fields. This standard mode of EBIC can also be performed in a transmission electron microscope in scanning mode (STEM). Recently a new mode of EBIC was demonstrated in STEM, SEEBIC, which measures current generated by the emission of secondary electrons from the sample [2]. These EBIC modes produce completely distinct contrast, which corresponds to entirely different electrical, thermal, and physical features. SEEBIC is also capable of much higher resolution (≤ 2 Å) than standard EBIC [3]. Here we discuss a variety of new STEM EBIC-based methods for mapping sample properties that are not accessible with standard TEM imaging, including resistance, temperature, and thickness.