| Adaptation of the standard SEM to SLEEM |
| A relatively simple mode enabling work at low and very low energies has been developed in a standard scanning electron microscope. The image resolution is achieved even below 10 nm at the energy of primary electrons of 10 eV and less. |
| Study of surfaces by very slow electrons |
| We have been dealing with study of surfaces by electron beam in the range of energies from 0 eV to 20 keV with spatial resolution of units of nm. The properties of doped silicon as well as the layer for x-ray mirrors and opto-electronic elements, growth of single-crystal layers etc. have been studied. |
| Non-charging electron microscopy |
| Automatic procedure has been developed for finding an optimum energy of the primary electron beam, at which accumulation of the charge in a specimen does not occur and it is possible to image non-conductive specimens in their original stage without coating with conductive layers. |
| Development of ultrahigh-vacuum microscope – SLEEM |
| UHV SLEEM consists of an observation and preparation chamber and a vacuum air lock. The working pressure is 10-8 Pa. The observation chamber is equipped with a field emission source of electrons, adaptation to microscopy by very slow electrons, mass spectrometer and manipulator enabling an accurate tilt in two directions. The preparation chamber is equipped with a ion source and a possibility of evaporation. |
| The low voltage transmission electron microscope |
| The low voltage transmission electron microscope is intended for the study of objects composed of atoms with low atomic numbers, such as biological specimens. By decreasing the accelerating voltage, the image contrast increases many times but at the same time the attainable resolution limit decreases, owing to the diffraction limit and chromatic aberration of the objective lens. The obtained results are very promising. A number of technical problems were solved due to which the repeated attempts to realise a low voltage microscope failed in the past. The activities are oriented towards correction of optical aberrations (aperture and chromatic ones), alignment automation, astigmatism correction, image computer focusing, and an increase in electron to light image conversion efficiency. |
