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High‐resolution backscatter electron imaging of colloidal gold in LVSEM
Author(s) -
Erlandsen S.,
Chen Y.,
Frethem C.,
Detry J.,
Wells C.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2818.2003.01218.x
Subject(s) - materials science , scintillator , yttrium aluminium garnet , secondary electrons , colloidal gold , optics , cerium , resolution (logic) , electron , detector , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , doping , nanoparticle , physics , metallurgy , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , computer science
Summary High‐resolution backscatter electron (BSE) imaging of colloidal gold can be accomplished at low voltage using in‐lens or below‐the‐lens FESEMs equipped with either Autrata‐modified yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) scintillators doped with cerium, or with BSE to secondary electron (SE) conversion plates. The threshold for BSE detection of colloidal gold was 1.8 keV for the YAG detector, and the BSE/SE conversion was sensitive down to 1 keV. Gold particles (6, 12 and 18 nm) have an atomic number of 79 and were clearly distinguished at 500 000× by materials contrast and easily discriminated from cell surfaces coated with platinum with an atomic number of 78. BSE imaging was relatively insensitive to charging, and build up of carbon contamination on the specimen was transparent to the higher energy BSE.