Surface charge compensation for a highly charged ion emission microscope

A surface charge compensation electron flood gun has been added to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) highly charged ion (HCI) emission microscope. HCI surface interaction results in a significant charge residue being left on the surface of insulators and semiconductors. This residual charge causes undesirable aberrations in the microscope images and a reduction of the time-of-flight (T-O-F) mass resolution when studying the surfaces of insulators and semiconductors. The benefits and problems associated with HCI microscopy and recent results of the electron flood gun-enhanced HCI microscope are discussed.