Applications of STEM to Problems in Materials Science
The scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) concept developed gradually as attempts were made to combine the advantages and eliminate the disadvantages of the transmission electron microscope, the scanning electron microscope, and the electron microprobe. However, the marketing of the first commercial dedicated STEM (the VG Microscopes HB5) spurred the development of the instrumentation and the understanding of the data interpretation required for full utilization of the technique. Today, while some avenues remain incompletely developed, the STEM is accepted as a powerful research tool, and the prospect of being able to study the products of the interaction of a very fine electron beam with a specimen has provoked workers to perform imaginative and informative experiments. Below are presented a few recent samples of the applications of such a STEM, in the authors’ laboratory, to problems in the field of materials science.