Volume 25 Issue 4 May 2011

Adriaan J. M. Mackus,¹ W. M. M. (Erwin) Kessels¹ and J. J. L. (Hans) Mulders². 1. Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. 2. FEI Electron Optics, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
High-purity platinum structures have been grown with atomic-layer deposition (ALD) on very thin seeds made with electron beam-induced deposition (EBID). The ALD growth is selective towards the EBID seeds on the substrate. This approach basically combines the sub-10 nm patterning capability of EBID and the material quality of ALD, and thereby enables the fabrication of high-quality nanostructures with a high lateral resolution. A dual supply line with local injectors can be used to realize ALD growth in the same tool that is used to create the platinum seed layer. Future developments may result in further optimization of the current process as well as in exploration of other material combinations for both the seed layer and the ALD process.

Mathias Procop,¹ Vasile-Dan Hodoroaba and Vanessa Rackwitz. Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und Prüfung (BAM), Berlin, Germany. 1. Now with IfG-Institute for Scientific Instruments, Berlin, Germany
A microfocus X-ray source mounted on the analysis chamber of an SEM was used to excite X-ray fluorescence spectra and to detect chemical elements with concentrations below the detection limit of the electron-excited X-ray spectra conventionally measured with SEM/EDS. An aluminium alloy and a hard material ceramics were analysed as representative examples. It is demonstrated that the combination of the three analytical methods: (1) SEM imaging for surface morphology characterisation; (2) electron-
excited X-ray spectroscopy with its high spatial resolution for element analysis of inclusions or precipitates; and (3) X-ray fluorescence for the detection of elements with concentrations below 0.1 mass% considerably improves the performance of SEM/EDX analyses.

Yashvinder Sabharwal, Solexis Advisors LLC, Austin, TX, USA
This four-part series covers the factors to consider in choosing a camera among CCD, EMCCD, and scientific-grade CMOS cameratechnologies for biological imaging applications. The differences among the sensor architectures and the impact of parameters such as pixel size, noise, and QE on signal-to-noise performance, image quality, and Nyquist sampling are considered. Part 1 in particular focuses on how each sensor works, imaging modes, pixel size, chip sizeand frame rate.