Trends in Atomic Resolution Electron Microscopy

1994 ◽  
Vol 332 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Smith ◽  
M.R. Mccartney
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscopy ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
Irradiation Damage ◽  
Image Recording ◽  
Exit Surface ◽  
Resolution Electron ◽  
Image Simulations

ABSTRACTStructural information on the atomic scale is readily accessible from thin samples using the technique of high-resolution electron microscopy. Electron micrographs recorded under well-defined operating conditions can be directly interpreted in terms of atomic arrangements around defects of interest such as dislocations and interfaces. Digital image recording with slow-scan CCD cameras and quantitative comparisons with image simulations based on structural models are starting to lead to improved accuracy and reliability in structure determinations. Techniques based upon holographic methods are utilizing the superior illumination coherence of the field emission electron source to enhance resolution beyond the conventional extended Scherzer limit. Innovative methods for combining image and diffraction pattern information are also leading to improved levels of resolution for periodic objects. Care is needed to ensure that electron irradiation damage and surface cleanliness do not impose unnecessary restrictions on the details that can be extracted from recorded micrographs. It is proposed that the complex wavefunction emerging from the exit-surface of the sample should be considered as a basis for comparing the differences between experimental micrographs and image simulations.

Atomic chemistry by HREM and image simulations?

1986 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 828-829
Author(s):  
J.M. Howe ◽  
R. Gronsky
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscopy ◽  
Resolution Electron ◽  
Image Simulations

The technique of high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) is invaluable to the materials scientist because it allows examination of microstructural features at levels of resolution that are unobtainable by most other methods. Although the structural information which can be determined by HREM and accompanying image simulations has been well documented in the literature, there have only been a few cases where this technique has been used to reveal the chemistry of individual columns or planes of atoms, as occur in segregated and ordered materials.

Limits for high-resolution electron microscopy of inorganic materials?

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 4-5
Author(s):  
David J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Spherical Aberration ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscopy ◽  
Inorganic Materials ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
Resolution Limit ◽  
Contrast Transfer Function ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
Resolution Electron ◽  
Electron Microscopes

The era of atomic-resolution electron microscopy has finally arrived. In virtually all inorganic materials, including oxides, metals, semiconductors and ceramics, it is possible to image individual atomic columns in low-index zone-axis projections. A whole host of important materials’ problems involving defects and departures from nonstoichiometry on the atomic scale are waiting to be tackled by the new generation of intermediate voltage (300-400keV) electron microscopes. In this review, some existing problems and limitations associated with imaging inorganic materials are briefly discussed. The more immediate problems encountered with organic and biological materials are considered elsewhere.Microscope resolution. It is less than a decade since the state-of-the-art, commercially available TEM was a 200kV instrument with a spherical aberration coefficient of 1.2mm, and an interpretable resolution limit (ie. first zero crossover of the contrast transfer function) of 2.5A.

Slow-scan CCD cameras and low-dose High-Resolution Electron Microscopy: Direct and quantitative

1994 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 412-413
Author(s):  
M. Pan
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Structural Damage ◽  
Low Dose ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscopy ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Ccd Cameras ◽  
Resolution Electron

It has been known for many years that materials such as zeolites, polymers, and biological specimens have crystalline structures that are vulnerable to electron beam irradiation. This radiation damage severely restrains the use of high resolution electron microscopy (HREM). As a result, structural characterization of these materials using HREM techniques becomes difficult and challenging. The emergence of slow-scan CCD cameras in recent years has made it possible to record high resolution (∽2Å) structural images with low beam intensity before any apparent structural damage occurs. Among the many ideal properties of slow-scan CCD cameras, the low readout noise and digital recording allow for low-dose HREM to be carried out in an efficient and quantitative way. For example, the image quality (or resolution) can be readily evaluated on-line at the microscope and this information can then be used to optimize the operating conditions, thus ensuring that high quality images are recorded. Since slow-scan CCD cameras output (undistorted) digital data within the large dynamic range (103-104), they are ideal for quantitative electron diffraction and microscopy.

Electron microscopy and diffraction of crystalline dendrimers and macrocycles

1993 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 1218-1219
Author(s):  
C. J. Buchko ◽  
P. M. Wilson ◽  
Z. Xu ◽  
J. Zhang ◽  
S. Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Liquid Crystalline ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Calorimetry ◽  
Tertiary Butyl ◽  
Phenyl Acetylene ◽  
Selected Area Electron Diffraction ◽  
Liquid Crystalline Phases ◽  
Resolution Electron

The synthesis of well-defined organic molecules with unique geometries opens new opportunities for understanding and controlling the organization of condensed matter. Here, we study dendrimers and macrocycles which are synthesized from rigid phenyl-acetylene spacer units, Both units are solubilized by the presence of tertiary butyl groups located at the periphery of the molecule. These hydrocarbon materials form crystalline and liquid crystalline phases which have been studied by differential scanning calorimetry, hot stage optical microscopy, and wide-angle x-ray scattering (WAXS).The precisely defined architecture of these molecules makes it possible to investigate systematic variations in chemical architecture on the nature of microstructural organization. Here we report on the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and high resolution electron microscopy (HREM) studies of crystalline thin films formed by deposition of these materials onto carbon substrates from dilute solution. Electron microscopy is very attractive for gaining structural information on new molecules due to the scarcity of material to grow single crystals suitable for conventional crystallography.

X-Ray-Optical Multilayer Structures Studied Using High Resolution Electron Microscopy.

1986 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Beth Stearns ◽  
Amanda K. Petford-Long ◽  
C.-H. Chang ◽  
D. G. Stearns ◽  
N. M. Ceglio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Substrate Surface ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscopy ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
Degree Of Crystallinity ◽  
Multilayer Systems ◽  
Layer Width ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Resolution Electron

ABSTRACTThe technique of high resolution electron microscopy has been used to examine the structure of several multilayer systems (MLS) on an atomic scale. Mo/Si multilayers, in use in a number of x-ray optical element applications, and Mo/Si multilayers, of interest because of their magnetic properties, have been imaged in cross-section. Layer thicknesses, flatness and smoothness have been analysed: the layer width can vary by up to 0.6nm from the average value, and the layer flatness depends on the quality of the substrate surface for amorphous MLS, and on the details of the crystalline growth for the crystalline materials. The degree of crystallinity and the crystal orientation within the layers have also been investigated. In both cases, the high-Z layers are predominantly crystalline and the Si layers appear amorphous. Amorphous interfacial regions are visible between the Mo and Si layers, and crystalline cobalt suicide interfacial regions between the Co and Si layers. Using the structural measurements obtained from the HREM results, theoretical x-ray reflectivity behaviour has been calculated. It fits the experimental data very well.

Atomic Scale Study of Cosi/Si (111) and CoSi2/Si (111) Interfaces

1989 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Catana ◽  
M. Heintze ◽  
P.E. Schmid ◽  
P. Stadelmann
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Electron Beam ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Orientation Relationship ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscopy ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
Type B ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Resolution Electron

ABSTRACTHigh Resolution Electron Microscopy (HREM) was used to study microstructural changes related to the CoSi/Si-CoSi/CoSi2/Si-CoSi2/Si transformations. CoSi is found to grow epitaxially on Si with [111]Si // [111]CoSi and < 110 >Si // < 112 >CoSi. Two CoSi non-equivalent orientations (rotated by 180° around the substrate normal) can occur in this plane. They can be clearly distinguished by HRTEM on cross-sections ( electron beam along [110]Si). At about 500°C CoSi transforms to CoSi2. Experimental results show that the type B orientation relationship satisfying [110]Si // [112]CoSi is preserved after the initial stage of CoSi2 formation. At this stage an epitaxial CoSi/CoSi2/Si(111) system is obtained. The atomic scale investigation of the CoSi2/Si interface shows that a 7-fold coordination of the cobalt atoms is observed in both type A and type B epitaxies.

Interfacial Atomic Structures During Cobalt Silicidation

1990 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Catana ◽  
P.E. Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscopy ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
Type B ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Atomic Structures ◽  
Resolution Electron ◽  
Predominant Orientation ◽  
Lower Temperature

ABSTRACTHigh Resolution Electron Microscopy (HREM) and image calculations are combined to study microstructural changes related to the CoSi/Si-CoSi/CoSi2/Si-CoSi2/Si transformations. The samples are prepared by UHV e-beam evaporation of Co layers (2 nm) followed by annealing at 300°C or 400°C. Cross-sectional observations at an atomic scale show that the silicidation of Co at the lower temperature yields epitaxial CoSi/Si domains such that [111]Si // [111]CoSi and <110>Si // <112>CoSi. At about 400°C CoSi2 nucleates at the CoSi/Si interface. During the early stages of this chemical reaction, an epitaxial CoSi/CoSi2/Si system is observed. The predominant orientation is such that (021) CoSi planes are parallel to (220) CoSi2 planes, the CoSi2/Si interface being of type B. The growth of CoSi2 is shown to proceed at the expense of both CoSi and Si.

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