Fig. 2
From: Electrical Contacts on Silicon Nanowires Produced by Metal-Assisted Etching: a Comparative Approach
SEM images taken at 1 kV of acceleration voltage of fake devices consisting in couples of Pt electrodes. This e-beam setting allows us to highlight the surface contamination. The relief appearance is due to the electrical charging of the insulating surface. This effect also makes the scanning lines of the e-beam visible. In the areas where the lines are not visible, the surface results to be conductive. a A square on the device longer exposed to the FIB is evident, denoting a strong contamination in that region. On the other hand, in b, representing the short exposed device, any structure due to the FIB exposure is detectable. In both cases a halo around the Pt electrodes is observable