Cleanroom

In the cleanroom of Thin Film Facilities - MiPlaza of the Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven, two SEMs are available for internal and external cleanroom users. For high performance work Frans Holthuysen is available to fully exploit the potential of the equipment. The work comprises the investigation of nano- and microdevices, like ICs, sensors, optical components, displays, MEMS devices and test structures. For his work the SEM is used as a Ultra-High-Resolution microscope to look at materials and structures and to measure the dimensions of patterns.

  SEM

Means 'Scanning Electron Microscope'. The SEM uses electrons instead of light to form an image. A beam of highly charged electrons is fired at the sample to be studied and scanned back and forth across it. A TV picture is built up in a similar manner. The interactions that occur with the sample are monitored & then interpreted by sophisticated software. The resulting images are always in black and white. Any SEM 'colour' images have been artificially enhanced.

  Scanning Electron Microscopy

SEM is an essential technique in today’s analysis of materials and microsystems; it is also widely used in the field of biomedical research. Within Philips Research SEM equipment is used in the fields of material analysis and nanometer measurements for nano- and micro device development. The images displayed here are a true representation of the beauty of the small world, which can be imaged by this technique.

  Images

Can be made by means of electron microscopes enabling a resolution down to 1 nm, whereas a modern light microscope has a resolution of just less than 100 nm. Philips has been active in the field of electron microscopy since the mid-1930s. In 1949 its first electron microscope became commercially available. Since 1997, the electron microscopy business of Philips has been a part of the FEI Company, in which Philips is a minority shareholder. Nowadays, at Philips Research SEM is an important analysis technique.
 

  SEM Art

Apart from making SEM images for research projects, Frans Holthuysen* has an eye for the artistic nature of tiny things. Over the years he produced many extra-ordinary micrographs. Much of this work is also appreciated very much by people outside Philips. At the yearly Micrograph Contest (part of the Electron, Ion and Photon Beam and Nanotechnology Conference, USA) Frans won a lot of prizes in several categories and some of his work was published as SEM of the month in Semiconductor International.

Text & images © 2005-2008 Philips All Rights Reserved

 * For information re Frans's SEM see FEI-Nova NanoSEM 600 PDF.