Abstracto

Thermal Effect Behavior of Materials under Scanning Electron Microscopy. Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics Hybrid Model

Abdelkader Nouiri

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) provides a convenient way to provide structural information at micro and nano scale. However, the temperature rise due to electron bombardment during SEM analysis has been a concern because it can modify SEM results, in particular at nanostructures. For quantitative understanding of the temperature increase during the SEM analysis, a hybrid model, molecular dynamics combined with Monte Carlo method, is developed. The influence of some parameters, like accelerating voltage, primary current and scanning duration are studied. The resulting temperature profile within semiconductors materials and hypothetical apatite grains indicates a maximum temperature increase near the surface, followed by a continuous temperature reduction as a function of depth from the surface.