Proton beam micromachined resolution standards for nuclear microprobes

Abstract

The quest for smaller spot sizes has long been the goal of many nuclear microprobe groups worldwide, and consequently there is a need for good quality resolution standards. Such standards have to be consistent with the accurate measurement of state-of-the-art nuclear microbeam spot sizes, i.e. 400 nm for high current applications such as Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and proton-induced X-ray emission, and 100 nm for low current applications such as scanning transmission ion microscopy or ion beam-induced charge. The criteria for constructing a good quality nuclear microprobe resolution standard is therefore demanding: the standard has to be three dimensional with a smooth surface, have an edge definition better than the state-of-the-art beam spot resolutions, and exhibit vertical side walls. Proton beam micromachining (PBM) is a new technique of high potential for the manufacture of precise 3D microstructures. Recent developments have shown that metallic microstructures (nickel and copper) can be formed from these microshapes. Prototype nickel PBM resolution standards have been manufactured at the Research Centre for Nuclear Microscopy, NUS and these new standards are far superior to the 2000 mesh gold grids currently in use by many groups in terms of surface smoothness, vertical walls and edge definition. Results of beam resolution tests using the new PBM standards with the OM2000 microprobe end station/HVEE Singletron system have yielded spot sizes of 290 nm × 450 nm for a 50 pA beam of 2 MeV protons. © 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.