Novel Ultrafast Backscattered Electron Detector With Field-Effect Transistor Enhanced In Situ Signal Amplification

For electron microscopy, ultrafast detectors with high sensitivity are intrinsically demanded, especially for biomedical applications, where probing electrons can damage biological samples under investigation. Addressing this, a novel ultrafast electron detector with field-effect transistor (FET) enhanced in situ signal amplification is proposed and verified in this study. Through Silvacobased simulation, the detector demonstrates a high gain of over sevenfold of the current generated in conventional p-i-n-based detectors and an ultrafast response with a cutoff frequency of over 500 MHz. Furthermore, a proposed nonuniform gating oxide design shows an improvement in the detector output current from 61 to 87 mu A/mu m. Besides, a nonlinear doping profile of the electron absorption layer is also proven effective in enhancing the in situ signal amplification effects. Particularly, a detector with a thick electron absorption layer of 50 mu m exhibits excellent performances with an output current over 16 mu A/mu m and a cutoff frequency of approximately 200 MHz, making it possible to detect high-energy electrons.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel ultrafast electron detector with field-effect transistor (FET) enhanced in situ signal amplification is proposed and verified. Through simulation, the detector shows a high gain and ultrafast response, with a cutoff frequency of over 500 MHz. The proposed nonuniform gating oxide design and nonlinear doping profile of the electron absorption layer also contribute to enhancing the detector's performance.