Mass sensor for in situ monitoring of focused ion and electron beam induced processes

A cantilever-based mass sensor for in situ monitoring of deposition and milling using focused ion and electron beams is presented. Carefully designed experiments allowed for mass measurements with a noise level of ±10fg by tracking the resonance frequency of a temperature stabilized piezoresistive cantilever using phase locking. The authors report on measurements of precursor surface coverage, residence time, mass deposition rates, yields, and deposit density using the (CH3)3PtCpCH3 precursor.