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Sub-Angstrom resolution of atomistic structures below 0.8 Angstrom

Journal Article · · Philosophical Magazine B
By improving temporal coherence (chromatic aberration) and compensating spatial incoherence, we have achieved the goal of the one-Angstrom microscope (O Angstrom M) project at the LBNL National Center for Electron Microscopy by extending the limits of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy to sub-Angstrom levels. The O Angstrom M combines focal-series image-processing software with a modified 300 keV electron microscope equipped with a highly-coherent field-emission electron gun. By operating at an 'alpha-null' focus in order to minimize the effects of spatial incoherence, and by reducing the O Angstrom M's electron-gun extraction voltage to improve temporal coherence, we are able to transfer information below 0.8 Angstrom. In a test specimen of silicon viewed in [112] orientation in the O Angstrom M, we are able to 'see' atoms separated by only 0.78 Angstrom. Sub-Angstrom resolution at this level offers the materials researcher an effective tool for the characterization of defects with unprecedented precision.
Research Organization:
Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Director, Office of Science. Office of Basic Energy Sciences. Division of Materials Sciences (US)
DOE Contract Number:
AC03-76SF00098
OSTI ID:
836367
Report Number(s):
LBNL--48467
Journal Information:
Philosophical Magazine B, Journal Name: Philosophical Magazine B Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 81
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English