[1Ca01-05] Micro analysis of new materials: Microbeam analysis (MBA) Division's Session

[1Ca01] Development of highly-sensitive magnetic imaging technique using a scanning electron microscope

*Hideo Morishita¹, Teruo Kohashi¹, Hiroyuki Yamamoto¹ (1. Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd.)

We developed a method of observing a clear magnetic contrast image using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Directional-selective detection of secondary electrons (SEs) is needed to obtain SEM images with a clear magnetic contrast using a type-I method that utilizes changes in the number of detected signals due to a deflection of SEs by the stray magnetic fields of specimens. By combining beam deceleration and specimen tilting (hereinafter “tilting deceleration”), we achieved a directional-selective detection condition for SEs that is preferable for the type-I method. We found that the tilting deceleration method has high sensitivity for fine magnetic domain structures and can visualize submicron-sized magnetic domain structures in a vertically magnetized region of a surface-polished Nd-Fe-B alloy specimen. Furthermore, we found that the anisotropy of magnetic contrast can be reduced by combining two SEM images with different inclinations.