Scanning Transmission Microscopy Applied to Thick Specimen

Author(s):  
H. Koike ◽  
T. Matsuo ◽  
K. Ueno ◽  
M. Suzuki

Since the identification of single atoms was achieved by Crewe et al, scanning transmission microscopy has been put into pratical use. Recently they applied this method to the quantitative mass analysis of DNA.As pointed out previously the chromatic aberration which decreases the image contrast and quality, does not affect a scanning transmission image as it does a conventional transmission electron microscope image. Thus, the STEM method is advantageous for thick specimen. Further this method employs a high sensitive photomultiplier tube which also functions as an image intensifier. This detection method is effective for the observation of living specimens or easily damaged specimens. In this respect the scanning transmission microscope with high accelerating voltage is necessary.Since Uyeda's experiments of crystalline materials, many workers have been discussed how thick specimens can be observed by CTEM. With biological specimens, R. Szirmae reported on the decrease in the image contrast of rabbit psoas muscle sections at various accelerating voltages and specimen thicknesses.

Author(s):  
K. Shibatomi ◽  
T. Yamanoto ◽  
H. Koike

In the observation of a thick specimen by means of a transmission electron microscope, the intensity of electrons passing through the objective lens aperture is greatly reduced. So that the image is almost invisible. In addition to this fact, it have been reported that a chromatic aberration causes the deterioration of the image contrast rather than that of the resolution. The scanning electron microscope is, however, capable of electrically amplifying the signal of the decreasing intensity, and also free from a chromatic aberration so that the deterioration of the image contrast due to the aberration can be prevented. The electrical improvement of the image quality can be carried out by using the fascionating features of the SEM, that is, the amplification of a weak in-put signal forming the image and the descriminating action of the heigh level signal of the background. This paper reports some of the experimental results about the thickness dependence of the observability and quality of the image in the case of the transmission SEM.


Author(s):  
J. M. Cowley ◽  
R. Glaisher ◽  
J. A. Lin ◽  
H.-J. Ou

Some of the most important applications of STEM depend on the variety of imaging and diffraction made possible by the versatility of the detector system and the serial nature, of the image acquisition. A special detector system, previously described, has been added to our STEM instrument to allow us to take full advantage of this versatility. In this, the diffraction pattern in the detector plane may be formed on either of two phosphor screens, one with P47 (very fast) phosphor and the other with P20 (high efficiency) phosphor. The light from the phosphor is conveyed through a fiber-optic rod to an image intensifier and TV system and may be photographed, recorded on videotape, or stored digitally on a frame store. The P47 screen has a hole through it to allow electrons to enter a Gatan EELS spectrometer. Recently a modified SEM detector has been added so that high resolution (10Å) imaging with secondary electrons may be used in conjunction with other modes.


Author(s):  
Jan-Olov Bovin ◽  
Osamu Terasaki ◽  
Jan-Olle Malm ◽  
Sven Lidin ◽  
Sten Andersson

High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) is playing an important role in identifying the new icosahedral phases. The selected area diffraction patterns of quasi crystals, recorded with an aperture of the radius of many thousands of Ångströms, consist of dense arrays of well defined sharp spots with five fold dilatation symmetry which makes the interpretation of the diffraction process and the resulting images different from those invoked for usual crystals. The atomic structure of the quasi crystals is not established even if several models are proposed. The correct structure model must of course explain the electron diffraction patterns with 5-, 3- and 2-fold symmetry for the phases but it is also important that the HRTEM images of the alloys match the computer simulated images from the model. We have studied quasi crystals of the alloy Al65Cu20Fe15. The electron microscopes used to obtain high resolution electro micrographs and electron diffraction patterns (EDP) were a (S)TEM JEM-2000FX equipped with EDS and PEELS showing a structural resolution of 2.7 Å and a IVEM JEM-4000EX with a UHP40 high resolution pole piece operated at 400 kV and with a structural resolution of 1.6 Å. This microscope is used with a Gatan 622 TV system with an image intensifier, coupled to a YAG screen. It was found that the crystals of the quasi crystalline materials here investigated were more sensitive to beam damage using 400 kV as electron accelerating voltage than when using 200 kV. Low dose techniques were therefore applied to avoid damage of the structure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. e2019068118
Author(s):  
Yuan Hung Lo ◽  
Jihan Zhou ◽  
Arjun Rana ◽  
Drew Morrill ◽  
Christian Gentry ◽  
...  

Biominerals such as seashells, coral skeletons, bone, and tooth enamel are optically anisotropic crystalline materials with unique nanoscale and microscale organization that translates into exceptional macroscopic mechanical properties, providing inspiration for engineering new and superior biomimetic structures. Using Seriatopora aculeata coral skeleton as a model, here, we experimentally demonstrate X-ray linear dichroic ptychography and map the c-axis orientations of the aragonite (CaCO3) crystals. Linear dichroic phase imaging at the oxygen K-edge energy shows strong polarization-dependent contrast and reveals the presence of both narrow (<35°) and wide (>35°) c-axis angular spread in the coral samples. These X-ray ptychography results are corroborated by four-dimensional (4D) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) on the same samples. Evidence of co-oriented, but disconnected, corallite subdomains indicates jagged crystal boundaries consistent with formation by amorphous nanoparticle attachment. We expect that the combination of X-ray linear dichroic ptychography and 4D STEM could be an important multimodal tool to study nano-crystallites, interfaces, nucleation, and mineral growth of optically anisotropic materials at multiple length scales.


Author(s):  
S. M. Kennedy ◽  
C. X. Zheng ◽  
W. X. Tang ◽  
D. M. Paganin ◽  
D. E. Jesson

We discuss an intuitive approach to interpreting mirror electron microscopy (MEM) images, whereby image contrast is primarily caused by the Laplacian of small height or potential variations across a sample surface. This variation is blurred slightly to account for the interaction of the electrons with the electrical potential away from the surface. The method is derived from the established geometrical theory of MEM contrast, and whilst it loses quantitative accuracy outside its domain of validity, it retains a simplicity that enables rapid interpretation of MEM images. A strong parallel exists between this method and out of focus contrast in transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which allows a number of extensions to be made, such as including the effects of spherical and chromatic aberration.


2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (S2) ◽  
pp. 100-101
Author(s):  
N. Dellby ◽  
O.L. Krivanek ◽  
A.R. Lupini

Electron probe formation in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) has two properties that maximize the benefits of spherical aberration correction: the smallest and brightest probes are formed when all the geometric aberrations are set to zero, and the size of the probe is not greatly affected by the presence of chromatic aberration. This contrasts with the case of conventional, fixed-beam TEM (CTEM), in which optimized phase-contrast imaging demands a non-zero spherical aberration coefficient (Cs), and chromatic aberration constitutes a major resolution limit. As a result, a consensus is presently emerging that the benefits of aberration correction will be felt most strongly in STEM.Our efforts in Cs-corrected STEM have progressed from a proof-of-principle Cs corrector [1] to an optimized second-generation design [2]. The corrector in both cases is of the quadrupole-octupole type. The second-generation corrector uses separate quadrupoles and octupoles, and concentrates on maximizing the octupole strength.


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