Nanoelectronic imaging, INC. (NEI) is developing techniques for mapping signals in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) that are normally inaccessible

In this phase I sbir project, NEI will build on preliminary results to develop a quantitative, TEM-based topographic mapping technique with the potential for atomic resolution in all three spatial dimensions. This precision would be akin to an AFM-in-TEM. The technique is based on scanning TEM electron beam-induced current (stem ebic) imaging, which maps pixel-by-pixel the current generated in a TEM sample by the electron beam. This project will quantify the relationship between a new ebic signal (previously discounted as noise) and topography. Stem ebic has already been demonstrated at atomic resolution laterally, and preliminary results suggest that near-atomic resolution in height is possible. In this phase I project, the new signal's signal-to-noise will be maximized, and its exact relationship to height will be quanti_ED by direct comparison to atomic force microscope (AFM) topographic maps. Finally, a statistical analysis of height precision, along with calibration procedures, will be developed. The reach goal of this project is to demonstrate topographic resolution comparable to, or even surpassing, NIST's traceable AFM.