Applying branching processes theory for building a statistical model for scanning electron microscope signals

Branching stochastic processes are used to describe random systems such as nuclear chain reactions, population development, and gene propagation. We s how that the creation of a scanning-electron-microscope signal can be descr ibed as a branching stochastic process. A statistical model is described st ep by step, as a function of the physical parameters of the process. Using the model, we propose a method for determining the unknown probability dist ribution of the secondary electron emission. Using this method, a lognormal distribution is shown to approximate the secondary electron emission well, and a Poisson distribution is shown to do so poorly. (C) 2000 Society of P hoto-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. [S0091-3286(00)02901-9].