Breaking the Crowther limit: Combining depth-sectioning and tilt tomography for high-resolution, wide-field 3D reconstructions
- Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States). School of Applied & Engineering Physics. Kavli Inst. at Cornell for Nanoscale Science
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Center for Electron Microscopy
- Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States). Dept. of Physics
- Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States). Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
To date, high-resolution (<1 nm) imaging of extended objects in three-dimensions (3D) has not been possible. A restriction known as the Crowther criterion forces a tradeoff between object size and resolution for 3D reconstructions by tomography. Further, the sub-Angstrom resolution of aberration-corrected electron microscopes is accompanied by a greatly diminished depth of field, causing regions of larger specimens (>6 nm) to appear blurred or missing. We demonstrate a three-dimensional imaging method that overcomes both these limits by combining through-focal depth sectioning and traditional tilt-series tomography to reconstruct extended objects, with high-resolution, in all three dimensions. The large convergence angle in aberration corrected instruments now becomes a benefit and not a hindrance to higher quality reconstructions. A through-focal reconstruction over a 390 nm 3D carbon support containing over 100 dealloyed and nanoporous PtCu catalyst particles revealed with sub-nanometer detail the extensive and connected interior pore structure that is created by the dealloying instability.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22); National Science Foundation (NSF) (United States)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231; SC0005827; SC0005827
- OSTI ID:
- 1511386
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 22317718
- Journal Information:
- Ultramicroscopy, Journal Name: Ultramicroscopy Vol. 140; ISSN 0304-3991
- Publisher:
- ElsevierCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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