Secondary-electron imaging of bulk crystalline specimens in an aberration corrected $\text{STEM}$

Hwang, Sooyeon; Wu, Lijun; Kisslinger, Kim; Yang, Judith; Egerton, Ray; Zhu, Yimei

doi:10.1016/j.ultramic.2024.113967

Secondary-electron imaging of bulk crystalline specimens in an aberration corrected $$\text{STEM}$$

Journal Article · Wed Apr 10 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Ultramicroscopy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2024.113967· OSTI ID:2338119

^[1]; Wu, Lijun ^[2]; Kisslinger, Kim ^[1]; Yang, Judith ^[1]; Egerton, Ray ^[3]; ^[2]

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Condensed Matter Physics
University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (Canada)

Atomic-scale electron microscopy traditionally probes thin specimens, with thickness below 100 nm, and its feasibility for bulk samples has not been documented. Here in this study, we explore the practicality of scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) imaging with secondary electrons (SE), using a silicon-wedge specimen having a maximum thickness of 18 μm. We find that the atomic structure is present in the entire thickness range of the SE images although the background intensity increases moderately with thickness. The consistent intensity of secondary electron (SE) images at atomic positions and the modest increase in intensity in between (background) observed in silicon suggest a limited contribution from SEs generated by backscattered electrons, a conclusion supported by our multislice calculations. We conclude that achieving atomic resolution in SE imaging for bulk specimens is indeed attainable using aberration-corrected STEM and that an aberration-corrected scanning electron microscope (SEM) may have the capacity for atomic-level resolution, holding great promise for future strides in materials research.

Research Organization:: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: =; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division (MSE)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0012704

OSTI ID:: 2338119

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2369970

Report Number(s):: BNL--225487-2024-JAAM

Journal Information:: Ultramicroscopy, Journal Name: Ultramicroscopy Vol. 261; ISSN 0304-3991

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (12)

EELS log-ratio technique for specimen-thickness measurement in the TEM Malis, T.; Cheng, S. C.; Egerton, R. F. Journal of Electron Microscopy Technique, Vol. 8, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/jemt.1060080206	journal	February 1988
Scanning Electron Microscopy: Physics of Image Formation and Microanalysis Reimer, Ludwig Springer Series in Optical Sciences, Vol. 45 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-38967-5	book	September 1998
Surface damage formation during ion-beam thinning of samples for transmission electron microscopy McCaffrey, J. P.; Phaneuf, M. W.; Madsen, L. D. Ultramicroscopy, Vol. 87, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3991(00)00096-6	journal	April 2001
Local thickness measurement through scattering contrast and electron energy-loss spectroscopy Zhang, Huai-Ruo; Egerton, Ray F.; Malac, Marek Micron, Vol. 43, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micron.2011.07.003	journal	January 2012
Atomic imaging using secondary electrons in a scanning transmission electron microscope: Experimental observations and possible mechanisms Inada, H.; Su, D.; Egerton, R. F. Ultramicroscopy, Vol. 111, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2010.10.002	journal	June 2011
Image simulation for atomic resolution secondary electron image Wu, Lijun; Egerton, R. F.; Zhu, Yimei Ultramicroscopy, Vol. 123 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2012.06.008	journal	December 2012
High-Energy Electron Scattering in Thick Samples Evaluated by Bright-Field Transmission Electron Microscopy, Energy-Filtering Transmission Electron Microscopy, and Electron Tomography Hayashida, Misa; Malac, Marek Microscopy and Microanalysis, Vol. 28, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1017/S1431927622000472	journal	March 2022
Surface determination through atomically resolved secondary-electron imaging Ciston, J.; Brown, H. G.; D’Alfonso, A. J. Nature Communications, Vol. 6, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms8358	journal	June 2015
Imaging single atoms using secondary electrons with an aberration-corrected electron microscope Zhu, Y.; Inada, H.; Nakamura, K. Nature Materials, Vol. 8, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2532	journal	September 2009
W(310) cold-field emission characteristics reflecting the vacuum states of an extreme high vacuum electron gun Cho, Boklae; Shigeru, Kokubo; Oshima, Chuhei Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 84, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4776182	journal	January 2013
Spatial resolution in secondary-electron microscopy Egerton, R. F.; Zhu, Y. Microscopy, Vol. 72, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1093/jmicro/dfac022	journal	May 2022
Secondary electron imaging at atomic resolution using a focused coherent electron probe Brown, H. G.; D'Alfonso, A. J.; Allen, L. J. Physical Review B, Vol. 87, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.87.054102	journal	February 2013

Similar Records

Automating STEM Aberration Correction via Bayesian Optimization

Journal Article · Fri Jul 21 20:00:00 EDT 2023 · Microscopy and Microanalysis · OSTI ID:2234070

Aberration corrected STEM by means of diffraction gratings

Journal Article · Sun Jun 11 20:00:00 EDT 2017 · Ultramicroscopy · OSTI ID:1435092

Performance and Image Analysis of the Aberration Corrected Hitachi HD-2700C Stem

Journal Article · Sat Feb 28 23:00:00 EST 2009 · Journal of Electron Microscopy · OSTI ID:1040244

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
aberration-corrected STEM
atomic-resolution SEM
bulk sample
secondary electron imaging

Secondary-electron imaging of bulk crystalline specimens in an aberration corrected $$\text{STEM}$$

Citation Formats

References (12)

Similar Records

Related Subjects