Combined Experimentaland Theoretical Determination of the Atomic Structure of the (310) Twin in NB

1991 ◽  
Vol 238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey H. Campbells ◽  
Wayne E. King ◽  
Stephen M. Foiles ◽  
Peter Gumbsch ◽  
Manfred Rühle

ABSTRACTA (310) twin boundary in Nb has been fabricated by diffusion bonding oriented single crystals and characterized using high resolution electron microscopy. Atomic structures for the boundary have been predicted using different interatomic potentials. Comparison of the theoretical models to the high resolution images has been performed through image simulation. On the basis of this comparison, one of the low energy structures predicted by theory can be ruled out.

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1139-1140
Author(s):  
D. Van Dyck

The ultimate goal of high resolution electron microscopy is to determine quantitatively the atomic structure of an object. In this respect the electron microscope can be considered as an information channel that carries this information from the object to the observer. High resolution images are then to be considered as data planes from which the structural information has to be extracted.However this structural information is usually hidden in the images and cannot easily be assessed. Therefore, a quantitative approach is required in which all steps in the imaging process are taken into account. Two main approaches have been followed so far in the literature: the indirect approach in which the images are simulated for various plausible trial structures of the object and compared with the experimental images, and the direct approach in which the lost phase information is retrieved using holographic techniques so as to “deblur” the effect of the microscope and to reveal directly the atomic structure of the object.


Author(s):  
Kenneth H. Downing ◽  
Hu Meisheng ◽  
Hans-Rudolf Went ◽  
Michael A. O'Keefe

With current advances in electron microscope design, high resolution electron microscopy has become routine, and point resolutions of better than 2Å have been obtained in images of many inorganic crystals. Although this resolution is sufficient to resolve interatomic spacings, interpretation generally requires comparison of experimental images with calculations. Since the images are two-dimensional representations of projections of the full three-dimensional structure, information is invariably lost in the overlapping images of atoms at various heights. The technique of electron crystallography, in which information from several views of a crystal is combined, has been developed to obtain three-dimensional information on proteins. The resolution in images of proteins is severely limited by effects of radiation damage. In principle, atomic-resolution, 3D reconstructions should be obtainable from specimens that are resistant to damage. The most serious problem would appear to be in obtaining high-resolution images from areas that are thin enough that dynamical scattering effects can be ignored.


Author(s):  
C. J. D. Hetherington

Most high resolution images are not directly interpretable but must be compared with simulations based on model atomic structures and appropriate imaging conditions. Typically, the only parameters that are adjusted, in addition to the structure models, are crystal thickness and microscope defocus. Small tilts of the crystal away from the exact zone axis have only rarely been considered. It is shown here that, in the analysis of an image of a silicon twin intersection, the crystal tilt could be accurately estimated and satisfactorily included in the simulations.The micrograph shown in figure 1 was taken as part of an HREM study of indentation-induced hexagonal silicon. In this instance, the intersection of two twins on different habit planes has driven the silicon into hexagonal stacking. However, in order to confirm this observation, and in order to investigate other defects in the region, it has been necessary to simulate the image taking into account the very apparent crystal tilt. The inability to orientate the specimen at the exact [110] zone was influenced by i) the buckling of the specimen caused by strains at twin intersections, ii) the absence of Kikuchi lines or a clearly visible Laue circle in the diffraction pattern of the thin specimen and iii) the avoidance of radiation damage (which had marked effects on images taken a few minutes later following attempts to realign the crystal.) The direction of the crystal tilt was estimated by observing which of the {111} planes remained close to edge-on to the beam and hence strongly imaged. Further refinement of the direction and magnitude of the tilt was done by comparing simulated images to experimental images in a through-focal series. The presence of three different orientations of the silicon lattice aided the unambiguous determination of the tilt. The final estimate of a 0.8° tilt in the 200Å thick specimen gives atomic columns a projected width of about 3Å.


Author(s):  
H. Kohl

High-Resolution Electron Microscopy is able to determine structures of crystals and interfaces with a spatial resolution of somewhat less than 2 Å. As the image is strongly dependent on instrumental parameters, notably the defocus and the spherical aberration, the interpretation of micrographs necessitates a comparison with calculated images. Whereas one has often been content with a qualitative comparison of theory with experiment in the past, one is currently striving for quantitative procedures to extract information from the images [1,2]. For the calculations one starts by assuming a static potential, thus neglecting inelastic scattering processes.We shall confine the discussion to periodic specimens. All electrons, which have only been elastically scattered, are confined to very few directions, the Bragg spots. In-elastically scattered electrons, however, can be found in any direction. Therefore the influence of inelastic processes on the elastically (= Bragg) scattered electrons can be described as an attenuation [3]. For the calculation of high-resolution images this procedure would be correct only if we had an imaging energy filter capable of removing all phonon-scattered electrons. This is not realizable in practice. We are therefore forced to include the contribution of the phonon-scattered electrons.


1988 ◽  
Vol 02 (06) ◽  
pp. 835-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. HERVIEU ◽  
B. DOMENGES ◽  
C. MICHEL ◽  
B. RAVEAU

The new superconductor Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δ with T c ranging from 80 to 105K, was studied by electron microscopy. The electron diffraction study shows a pseudo-tetragonal symmetry with a≈b≈5.4 Å and c≈30.7 Å and satellites along a, which settle in an incommensurate way. The high resolution images agree with the proposed basic structure. The stacking of the ( BiO y)2 and [ Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 6] layers is quite regular, with only some defects corresponding to c≈24 Å. The lamellar character of the oxide results in splitting and bending of the crystals.


2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeo Oku ◽  
Jan-Olov Bovin ◽  
Iwami Higashi ◽  
Takaho Tanaka ◽  
Yoshio Ishizawa

Atomic positions for Y atoms were determined by using high-resolution electron microscopy and electron diffraction. A slow-scan charge-coupled device camera which had high linearity and electron sensitivity was used to record high-resolution images and electron diffraction patterns digitally. Crystallographic image processing was applied for image analysis, which provided more accurate, averaged Y atom positions. In addition, atomic disordering positions in YB56 were detected from the differential images between observed and simulated images based on x-ray data, which were B24 clusters around the Y-holes. The present work indicates that the structure analysis combined with digital high-resolution electron microscopy, electron diffraction, and differential images is useful for the evaluation of atomic positions and disordering in the boron-based crystals.


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