Nanoparticle discrimination based on wavelength and lifetime-multiplexed cathodoluminescence microscopy

Mathijs W.H. Garming, I. Gerward C. Weppelman, Pascal De Boer, Felipe Perona Martínez, Romana Schirhagl, Jacob P. Hoogenboom*, Robert J. Moerland

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    13 Citations (Scopus)
    74 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Nanomaterials can be identified in high-resolution electron microscopy images using spectrally-selective cathodoluminescence. Capabilities for multiplex detection can however be limited, e.g., due to spectral overlap or availability of filters. Also, the available photon flux may be limited due to degradation under electron irradiation. Here, we demonstrate single-pass cathodoluminescence-lifetime based discrimination of different nanoparticles, using a pulsed electron beam. We also show that cathodoluminescence lifetime is a robust parameter even when the nanoparticle cathodoluminescence intensity decays over an order of magnitude. We create lifetime maps, where the lifetime of the cathodoluminescence emission is correlated with the emission intensity and secondary-electron images. The consistency of lifetime-based discrimination is verified by also correlating the emission wavelength and the lifetime of nanoparticles. Our results show how cathodoluminescence lifetime provides an additional channel of information in electron microscopy.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)12727-12734
    Number of pages8
    JournalNanoscale
    Volume9
    Issue number34
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 14 Sept 2017

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