Image processing for electron energy loss microanalysis

Author(s):  
F.P. Ottensmeyer ◽  
B.W. Frankland

Over the years biology and materials science have profited greatly from the imaging potential of electron microscopy for structural and morphological analysis. Gross structures, grains, subgrains or subcellular organelles, mitochondria and the Golgi were fairly easy to interpret at a glance. However, as more high resolution detail was sought in the form of macromolecular structure, or dislocations or even atomic images, the wave nature, the finite number of electrons and specimen destruction from the high energy of the latter all made interpretation of the images more difficult. Image simulation, image analysis and image processing have helped greatly to extract relevant information and have assisted in our understanding not only of the structure per se but also of the interaction between the structure and the probing electron.

Author(s):  
C. Colliex ◽  
P. Trebbia

The physical foundations for the use of electron energy loss spectroscopy towards analytical purposes, seem now rather well established and have been extensively discussed through recent publications. In this brief review we intend only to mention most recent developments in this field, which became available to our knowledge. We derive also some lines of discussion to define more clearly the limits of this analytical technique in materials science problems.The spectral information carried in both low ( 0<ΔE<100eV ) and high ( >100eV ) energy regions of the loss spectrum, is capable to provide quantitative results. Spectrometers have therefore been designed to work with all kinds of electron microscopes and to cover large energy ranges for the detection of inelastically scattered electrons (for instance the L-edge of molybdenum at 2500eV has been measured by van Zuylen with primary electrons of 80 kV). It is rather easy to fix a post-specimen magnetic optics on a STEM, but Crewe has recently underlined that great care should be devoted to optimize the collecting power and the energy resolution of the whole system.


Author(s):  
John F. Mansfield

One of the most important advancements of the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in recent years has been the development of the analytical electron microscope (AEM). The microanalytical capabilities of AEMs are based on the three major techniques that have been refined in the last decade or so, namely, Convergent Beam Electron Diffraction (CBED), X-ray Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (XEDS) and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS). Each of these techniques can yield information on the specimen under study that is not obtainable by any other means. However, it is when they are used in concert that they are most powerful. The application of CBED in materials science is not restricted to microanalysis. However, this is the area where it is most frequently employed. It is used specifically to the identification of the lattice-type, point and space group of phases present within a sample. The addition of chemical/elemental information from XEDS or EELS spectra to the diffraction data usually allows unique identification of a phase.


Author(s):  
Stuart McKernan

For many years the concept of quantitative diffraction contrast experiments might have consisted of the determination of dislocation Burgers vectors using a g.b = 0 criterion from several different 2-beam images. Since the advent of the personal computer revolution, the available computing power for performing image-processing and image-simulation calculations is enormous and ubiquitous. Several programs now exist to perform simulations of diffraction contrast images using various approximations. The most common approximations are the use of only 2-beams or a single systematic row to calculate the image contrast, or calculating the image using a column approximation. The increasing amount of literature showing comparisons of experimental and simulated images shows that it is possible to obtain very close agreement between the two images; although the choice of parameters used, and the assumptions made, in performing the calculation must be properly dealt with. The simulation of the images of defects in materials has, in many cases, therefore become a tractable problem.


Author(s):  
David C. Joy ◽  
Suichu Luo ◽  
John R. Dunlap ◽  
Dick Williams ◽  
Siqi Cao

In Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, Biology and Medicine, it is very important to have accurate information about the stopping power of various media for electrons, that is the average energy loss per unit pathlength due to inelastic Coulomb collisions with atomic electrons of the specimen along their trajectories. Techniques such as photoemission spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy have been used in the measurements of electron-solid interaction. In this paper we present a comprehensive technique which combines experimental and theoretical work to determine the electron stopping power for various materials by electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS ). As an example, we measured stopping power for Si, C, and their compound SiC. The method, results and discussion are described briefly as below.The stopping power calculation is based on the modified Bethe formula at low energy:where Neff and Ieff are the effective values of the mean ionization potential, and the number of electrons participating in the process respectively. Neff and Ieff can be obtained from the sum rule relations as we discussed before3 using the energy loss function Im(−1/ε).


Author(s):  
Nestor J. Zaluzec

The application of electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) to light element analysis is rapidly becoming an important aspect of the microcharacterization of solids in materials science, however relatively stringent requirements exist on the specimen thickness under which one can obtain EELS data due to the adverse effects of multiple inelastic scattering.1,2 This study was initiated to determine the limitations on quantitative analysis of EELS data due to specimen thickness.


2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (SRMS-7) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Pennicard ◽  
Heinz Graafsma ◽  
Michael Lohmann

The new synchrotron light source PETRA-III produced its first beam last year. The extremely high brilliance of PETRA-III and the large energy range of many of its beamlines make it useful for a wide range of experiments, particularly in materials science. The detectors at PETRA-III will need to meet several requirements, such as operation across a wide dynamic range, high-speed readout and good quantum efficiency even at high photon energies. PETRA-III beamlines with lower photon energies will typically be equipped with photon-counting silicon detectors for two-dimensional detection and silicon drift detectors for spectroscopy and higher-energy beamlines will use scintillators coupled to cameras or photomultiplier tubes. Longer-term developments include ‘high-Z’ semiconductors for detecting high-energy X-rays, photon-counting readout chips with smaller pixels and higher frame rates and pixellated avalanche photodiodes for time-resolved experiments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 410 ◽  
pp. 469-474
Author(s):  
Ivan S. Safronov ◽  
Alexander I. Ushakov

One of the most important purposes of materials science is the ability to govern the physical properties of materials characterized by different structures. The strength properties of nanostructured metal alloys do not always meet the exploitation requirements. The set of properties of such materials is stable within narrow limits: temperature, mechanical, and corrosion conditions. Traditional processing modes are ineffective for such materials. Attempts to use them often lead to the loss of unique physical and chemical properties. The most effective methods of processing such materials are associated with the use of laser radiation. The laser pulse has a number of features, including a complex effect on the surface layers of the material. Spot and short irradiation with high-energy rays can preserve the unique physical properties of samples as a whole and improve strength indicators without destroying the structure of the material as a whole.


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