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Which five factors influence CL measurements |
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Ways of tweaking CL parameters to achieve your desired outcome |
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How to get started with CL imaging by using the example parameters for six different samples |
Cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging in scanning electron microscopes (SEM) is a versatile tool used to study a wide range of materials at the nanoscale, from semiconductors to rocks and even organic materials. It can be used for various types of experiments, including but not limited to intensity imaging, spectroscopy, time-resolved imaging and angle-resolved imaging. Whichever material you are studying, the parameters for CL measurements should be optimized. This short guide aims to provide an overview of the relevant factors influencing the CL measurement to get you started with CL imaging. It is organized as follows:
The first section describes the CL emission processes and introduces the different factors influencing the resolution of a measurement.
The second section describes the influence of the voltage and current on the electron beam-sample interaction.
The third section is about the acquisition parameters and describes the effect of sampling and size of the field of view, as well as the color filter selection and specific parameters for spectroscopy measurements.
In the last section, examples are given of typical parameter values you can use for six different samples using Delmic's SPARC CL detector.