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Performance of High-Resolution SEM/EDX Systems Equipped with Transmission Mode (TSEM) for Imaging and Measurement of Size and Size Distribution of Spherical Nanoparticles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2014

Vasile-Dan Hodoroaba ,
Charles Motzkus ,
Tatiana Macé  and
Sophie Vaslin-Reimann
Vasile-Dan Hodoroaba*
Affiliation:
BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, D-12200 Berlin, Germany
Charles Motzkus
Affiliation:
Laboratoire National de Métrologie et d’Essais (LNE), 1 rue Gaston Boissier, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France
Tatiana Macé
Affiliation:
Laboratoire National de Métrologie et d’Essais (LNE), 1 rue Gaston Boissier, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France
Sophie Vaslin-Reimann
Affiliation:
Laboratoire National de Métrologie et d’Essais (LNE), 1 rue Gaston Boissier, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France
*
*Corresponding author. Dan.Hodoroaba@bam.de
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Abstract

The analytical performance of high-resolution scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) for accurate determination of the size, size distribution, qualitative elemental analysis of nanoparticles (NPs) was systematically investigated. It is demonstrated how powerful high-resolution SEM is by using both mono- and bi-modal distributions of SiO2 airborne NPs collected on appropriate substrates after their generation from colloidal suspension. The transmission mode of the SEM (TSEM) is systematically employed for NPs prepared on thin film substrates such as transmission electron microscopy grids. Measurements in the transmission mode were performed by using a “single-unit” TSEM transmission setup as manufactured and patented by Zeiss. This alternative to the “conventional” STEM detector consists of a special sample holder that is used in conjunction with the in-place Everhart–Thornley detector. In addition, the EDX capabilities for imaging NPs, highlighting the promising potential with respect to exploitation of the sensitivity of the new large area silicon drift detector energy dispersive X-ray spectrometers were also investigated. The work was carried out in the frame of a large prenormative VAMAS (Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards) project, dedicated to finding appropriate methods and procedures for traceable characterization of NP size and size distribution.

Keywords

transmission scanning electron microscopy/microscope (TSEM, T-SEM, STEM)high-resolution scanning electron microscope (SEM)transmissionSiO2nanoparticlessizesize distributionEDXlarge area SDD
Type
Materials Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , April 2014 , pp. 602 - 612
Copyright
© Microscopy Society of America 2014 

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