Optical beam deflection imaging of the electron beam interaction volume in semiconductors

Abstract

The distribution of electrons injected into CdS in a scanning electron microscope is imaged using an optical beam deflection technique. The contributions to the deflection due to carrier density, electron recombination, thermalization, and diffusion are identified for both pulsed and periodically modulated electron beams. The electron interaction volumes are analyzed to determine the energy dependence of the primary electron range and the lateral spread, presumably due to scattering of fast secondary electrons. The electron distributions are compared with Monte Carlo simulations.