Characterization of Precipitates by Three-Dimensional Electron Tomography

2007 ◽  
Vol 561-565 ◽  
pp. 2009-2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Kaneko ◽  
Keisuke Sato ◽  
Z. Horita ◽  
Koji Inoke

Structures and morphologies of Ge precipitates in an Al-Ge alloy were characterized by a combination of transmission electron microscopy and three-dimensional electron tomography. Faceting of the precipitates was clearly seen using transmission electron microscopy and varieties of precipitate morphologies were identified by three-dimensional electron tomography.

2006 ◽  
Vol 503-504 ◽  
pp. 603-608
Author(s):  
Koji Inoke ◽  
Kenji Kaneko ◽  
Z. Horita

A significant change in microstructure occurs during the application of severe plastic deformation (SPD) such as by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP). In this study, intense plastic strain was imposed on an Al-10.8wt%Ag alloy by the ECAP process. The amount of strain was controlled by the numbers of passes. After 1 pass of ECAP, shear bands became visible within the matrix. With increasing numbers of ECAP passes, the fraction of shear bands was increased. In this study, the change in microstructures was examined by three-dimensional electron tomography (3D-ET) in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). With this 3D-ET method, it was possible to conduct a precise analysis of the sizes, widths and distributions of the shear bands produced by the ECAP process. It is demonstrated that the 3D-ET method is promising to understand mechanisms of microstructural refinement using the ECAP process.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 1118-1128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucian Roiban ◽  
Loïc Sorbier ◽  
Christophe Pichon ◽  
Pascale Bayle-Guillemaud ◽  
Jacques Werckmann ◽  
...  

AbstractA three-dimensional (3D) study of multiphase nanostructures by chemically selective electron tomography combining tomographic approach and energy-filtered imaging is reported. The implementation of this technique at the nanometer scale requires careful procedures for data acquisition, computing, and analysis. Based on the performances of modern transmission electron microscopy equipment and on developments in data processing, electron tomography in the energy-filtered imaging mode is shown to be a very appropriate analysis tool to provide 3D chemical maps at the nanoscale. Two examples highlight the usefulness of analytical electron tomography to investigate inhomogeneous 3D nanostructures, such as multiphase specimens or core-shell nanoparticles. The capability of discerning in a silica-alumina porous particle the two different components is illustrated. A quantitative analysis in the whole specimen and toward the pore surface is reported. This tool is shown to open new perspectives in catalysis by providing a way to characterize precisely 3D nanostructures from a chemical point of view.


2008 ◽  
Vol 1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Sung Kim ◽  
Yoon Myung ◽  
Chang Hyun Kim ◽  
Seung Yong Bae ◽  
Jae-Pyoung Ahn ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTElectron tomography and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the unique three-dimensional structures of helical or zigzagged GaN, ZnGa2O4 and Zn2SnO4 nanowires. The helical GaN nanowires adopt a helical structure that consists of six equivalent <0-111> growth directions with the axial [0001] direction. The ZnGa2O4 nanosprings have four equivalent <011> growth directions with the [001] axial direction. The zigzagged Zn2SnO4 nanowires consisted of linked rhombohedrons structure having the side edges matched to the <011> direction, and the [111] axial direction.


2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 378-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Kübel ◽  
Andreas Voigt ◽  
Remco Schoenmakers ◽  
Max Otten ◽  
David Su ◽  
...  

Electron tomography is a well-established technique for three-dimensional structure determination of (almost) amorphous specimens in life sciences applications. With the recent advances in nanotechnology and the semiconductor industry, there is also an increasing need for high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) structural information in physical sciences. In this article, we evaluate the capabilities and limitations of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-angle-annular-dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) tomography for the 3D structural characterization of partially crystalline to highly crystalline materials. Our analysis of catalysts, a hydrogen storage material, and different semiconductor devices shows that features with a diameter as small as 1–2 nm can be resolved in three dimensions by electron tomography. For partially crystalline materials with small single crystalline domains, bright-field TEM tomography provides reliable 3D structural information. HAADF-STEM tomography is more versatile and can also be used for high-resolution 3D imaging of highly crystalline materials such as semiconductor devices.


2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shao-Ju Shih ◽  
Pilar Rodrigo Herrero ◽  
Guoqiang Li ◽  
Chin-Yi Chen ◽  
Sergio Lozano-Perez

AbstractThe geometry and three-dimensional (3D) morphology of the ceria particles synthesized by spray pyrolysis (SP) from two different precursors—cerium acetate hydrate and cerium nitrate hydrate (CeA and CeN ceria particles)—were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and electron tomography. Results were compared with surface area measurements, confirming that the surface area of CeA ceria particles is twice as large as that of CeN ceria particles. This result was supported by 3D microstructural observations, which have revealed that CeA ceria particles contain open pores (connected to surfaces) and closed pores (embedded in particles), while CeN ceria particles only contained closed pores. This experimental result suggests that the type of porosity is controlled by the precursors and could be related to their melting temperature during the heating process in SP.


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