Cathodoluminescence for Materials Science

Cathodoluminescence for materials science



Cathodoluminescence spectra of a selection of materials



Gallium nitride imaged with cathodoluminescence



Monte Carlo Beam Tracing Simulations for Incoherent Cathodoluminescence Emission

Incoherent cathodoluminescence emission occurs when the material is excited with an electron beam, and then the primary electrons decelerate and deposit their energy into the material. The size of this interaction volume depends on two factors:

  • Primary electron energy (controlled by the acceleration voltage in the microscope)

  • Density and atomic composition of the material

Si diplot color

In order to select the appropriate electron energy for a given experiment, it is valuable to know the interaction volume (penetration depth and width). By understanding it is possible to estimate what parts of your material are excited in an experiment. To help you with your cathodoluminescence research we have created a database of interaction volumes for a set of commonly studied materials in CL, such as Sapphire, Diamond, Zircon, Silicon, Gallium Nitride, Gallium Arsenide and more. 

The full 3D interaction data is organised as a list of [X, Y, Z, E] values for each electron. To get access to the database, which also includes  the Casino simulation setup file (“material”.sim) and raw data output (“material”_”voltage”kV.dat) (as “material”, please click here:

Get access to database




Cathodoluminescence detection system




SPARC cathodoluminescene detection system

Other CL applications