Nanosecond, Nanometer Movies of MEMS/NEMS Dynamics in a Standard SEM Using Time‐Tagged Secondary Electrons

Dynamic phenomena at the micro‐ and nanoscale underpin technologies ranging from micro‐ and nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) actuators and sensors to quantum instrumentation and communication hardware. In this paper, we demonstrate that time‐resolved full‐field scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for periodically driven micro‐ and nanostructures offers access to their spatiotemporal dynamics. This is achieved using a conventional SEM operated with its continuous electron beam and combined with a multi‐channel plate (MCP) with a time‐to‐digital converter (TDC) for time‐resolved measurements. Effective frame rates from to frames per second are reached and motion tracking with nm spatial and ns temporal jitter is demonstrated, enabling access to both micrometer‐scale and nanometer‐scale motion. By bringing high temporal resolution to widely available electron microscopes without invasive column modifications, this approach enables a broad range of experiments on dynamic micro‐ and nanomechanical systems.