Four-phase closure algorithm for coherent field imaging

Bright-field images taken with axial illumination show spurious high contrast patterns which obscure details smaller than 15 ° Hollow-cone illumination (HCI), however, reduces this disturbing granulation by statistical superposition and thus improves the signal-to-noise ratio. In this presentation we report on experiments aimed at selecting the proper amount of tilt and defocus for improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio by means of direct observation of the electron images on a TV monitor.Hollow-cone illumination is implemented in our microscope (single field condenser objective, Cs = .5 mm) by an electronic system which rotates the tilted beam about the optic axis. At low rates of revolution (one turn per second or so) a circular motion of the usual granulation in the image of a carbon support film can be observed on the TV monitor. The size of the granular structures and the radius of their orbits depend on both the conical tilt and defocus.

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Detection of a point defect in a silicon single crystal by high-resolution TEM

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100138701 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 53 ◽

pp. 466-467

Author(s):

M. Awaji

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Single Crystal ◽

Point Defect ◽

Point Defects ◽

Noise Level ◽

Dark Field ◽

Silicon Single Crystal ◽

High Resolution Image ◽

Dark Field Imaging ◽

Field Imaging

It is necessary to improve the resolution, brightness and signal-to-noise ratio(s/n) for the detection and identification of point defects in crystals. In order to observe point defects, multi-beam dark-field imaging is one of the useful methods. Though this method can improve resolution and brightness compared with dark-field imaging by diffuse scattering, the problem of s/n still exists. In order to improve the exposure time due to the low intensity of the dark-field image and the low resolution, we discuss in this paper the bright-field high-resolution image and the corresponding subtracted image with reference to a changing noise level, and examine the possibility for in-situ observation, identification and detection of the movement of a point defect produced in the early stage of damage process by high energy electron bombardment.The high-resolution image contrast of a silicon single crystal in the [10] orientation containing a triple divacancy cluster is calculated using the Cowley-Moodie dynamical theory and for a changing gaussian noise level. This divacancy model was deduced from experimental results obtained by electron spin resonance. The calculation condition was for the lMeV Berkeley ARM operated at 800KeV.

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Quantitative analysis by reconstruction of HREM focal series

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100171432 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 52 ◽

pp. 740-741

Author(s):

W. Coene ◽

A. Thust ◽

M. Op de Beeck ◽

D. Van Dyck

Keyword(s):

Phase Retrieval ◽

Image Plane ◽

Initial Guess ◽

Recursive Least Squares ◽

Objective Lens ◽

Electron Wave ◽

Electron Sources ◽

Original Algorithm ◽

Coherent Field ◽

Direct Interpretation

Compared to conventional electron sources, the use of a highly coherent field-emission gun (FEG) in TEM improves the information resolution considerably. A direct interpretation of this extra information, however, is hampered since amplitude and phase of the electron wave are scrambled in a complicated way upon transfer from the specimen exit plane through the objective lens towards the image plane. In order to make the additional high-resolution information interpretable, a phase retrieval procedure is applied, which yields the aberration-corrected electron wave from a focal series of HRTEM images (Coene et al, 1992).Kirkland (1984) tackled non-linear image reconstruction using a recursive least-squares formalism in which the electron wave is modified stepwise towards the solution which optimally matches the contrast features in the experimental through-focus series. The original algorithm suffers from two major drawbacks : first, the result depends strongly on the quality of the initial guess of the first step, second, the processing time is impractically high.

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