Peter Hartel

Detection of Single Atoms and Buried Defects in Three Dimensions by Aberration-Corrected Electron Microscope with 0.5-Å Information Limit

The ability of electron microscopes to analyze all the atoms in individual nanostructures is limited by lens aberrations. However, recent advances in aberration-correcting electron optics have led to greatly enhanced instrument performance and new techniques of electron microscopy. The development of an ultrastable electron microscope with aberration-correcting optics and a monochromated high-brightness source has significantly improved instrument resolution and contrast. In the present work, we report information transfer beyond 50 pm and show images of single gold atoms with a signal-to-noise ratio as large as 10. The instruments new capabilities were exploited to detect a buried Sigma3 {112} grain boundary and observe the dynamic arrangements of single atoms and atom pairs with sub-angstrom resolution. These results mark an important step toward meeting the challenge of determining the three-dimensional atomic-scale structure of nanomaterials.

Transmission electron microscopy at 20 kV for imaging and spectroscopy

The electron optical performance of a transmission electron microscope (TEM) is characterized for direct spatial imaging and spectroscopy using electrons with energies as low as 20 keV. The highly stable instrument is equipped with an electrostatic monochromator and a C(S)-corrector. At 20 kV it shows high image contrast even for single-layer graphene with a lattice transfer of 213 pm (tilted illumination). For 4 nm thick Si, the 200 reflections (271.5 pm) were directly transferred (axial illumination). We show at 20 kV that radiation-sensitive fullerenes (C(60)) within a carbon nanotube container withstand an about two orders of magnitude higher electron dose than at 80 kV. In spectroscopy mode, the monochromated low-energy electron beam enables the acquisition of EELS spectra up to very high energy losses with exceptionally low background noise. Using Si and Ge, we show that 20 kV TEM allows the determination of dielectric properties and narrow band gaps, which were not accessible by TEM so far. These very first results demonstrate that low kV TEM is an exciting new tool for determination of structural and electronic properties of different types of nano-materials.

Advancing the hexapole Cs-corrector for the scanning transmission electron microscope.

Aberration correctors using hexapole fields have proven useful to correct for the spherical aberration in electron microscopy. We investigate the limits of the present design for the hexapole corrector with respect to minimum probe size for the scanning transmission electron microscope and discuss several ways in which the design could be improved by rather small and incremental design changes for the next generation of advanced probe-forming systems equipped with a gun monochromator.

First application of Cc-corrected imaging for high-resolution and energy-filtered TEM

Contrast-transfer calculations indicate that C(c) correction should be highly beneficial for high-resolution and energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy. A prototype of an electron optical system capable of correcting spherical and chromatic aberration has been used to verify these calculations. A strong improvement in resolution at an acceleration voltage of 80 kV has been measured. Our first C(c)-corrected energy-filtered experiments examining a (LaAlO(3))(0.3)(Sr(2)AlTaO(6))(0.7)/LaCoO(3) interface demonstrated a significant gain for the spatial resolution in elemental maps of La.

XPEEM WITH ENERGY-FILTERING: ADVANTAGES AND FIRST RESULTS FROM THE SMART PROJECT

The second development step of the SMART project, i.e. an energy-filtered but not yet corrected photoelectron emission microscope, operates at the undulator U49/1-PGM beamline at BESSY II. It already demonstrates the variety of methods of the final version: microscopy, spectroscopy and electron diffraction. Some recent experimental results are reported for these three operation modes. In addition, the theoretical improvement of lateral resolution and transmission of PEEMs in general by using an energy filter is discussed for systems without and with aberration correction.

SMART: An Aberration-Corrected XPEEM/LEEM with Energy Filter

A new UHV spectroscopic X-ray photoelectron emission and low energy electron microscope is presently under construction for the installation at the PM-6 soft X-ray undulator beamline at BESSY II. Using a combination of a sophisticated magnetic beam splitter and an electrostatic tetrode mirror, the spherical and chromatic aberrations of the objective lens are corrected and thus the lateral resolution and sensitivity of the instrument improved. In addition a corrected imaging energy filter (a so-called omega filter) allows high spectral resolution (ΔE=0.1 eV) in the photoemission modes and back-ground suppression in LEEM and small-spot LEED modes. The theoretical prediction for the lateral resolution is 5 A; a realistic goal is about 2 nm. Thus, a variety of electron spectroscopies (XAS, XPS, UPS, XAES) and electron diffraction (LEED, LEEM) or reflection techniques (MEM) will be available with spatial resolution unreached so far.

Double aberration correction in a low-energy electron microscope

The lateral resolution of a surface sensitive low-energy electron microscope (LEEM) has been improved below 4 nm for the first time. This breakthrough has only been possible by simultaneously correcting the unavoidable spherical and chromatic aberrations of the lens system. We present an experimental criterion to quantify the aberration correction and to optimize the electron optical system. The obtained lateral resolution of 2.6 nm in LEEM enables the first surface sensitive, electron microscopic observation of the herringbone reconstruction on the Au(111) surface.

Electron nanodiffraction using sharply focused parallel probes

The authors describe an electron-optical configuration for producing a nanometer-scale sharply focused parallel electron probe in the transmission electron microscope. The configuration utilizes one of the round lenses in an objective prefield aberration corrector and generates a sharply focused parallel probe of 10 nm in diameter, with better than 0.2 nm edge acuity. Such a probe makes it possible to obtain electron diffraction patterns from nanometer-scale volumes of the specimen with unprecedented precision. A method for measuring the transverse coherence of the probe is also described.

Mirror corrector for low-voltage electron microscopes

Publisher Summary The beam separator and the electron mirror have been constructed and assembled. This chapter discusses the mechanical setup of mirror corrector. The testing of the components was carried out in a conventional scanning electron microscope. The theoretical resolution limit of present, uncorrected, direct-imaging low-energy electron microscopes is limited to 5 nm. In the case of electron illumination (LEEM), the best edge resolution achieved is 10 nm, while with photon illumination (PEEM), resolution limits of only 20 nm have been observed. The difference is mainly caused by the decreased electron yield in the latter case that leads to long recording times and hence to problems with mechanical and electrical stability. With the aid of a mirror corrector for simultaneous correction of chromatic and spherical aberrations, the spatial resolution limit can, in principle, be lowered to 0.5 nm, or alternatively it is possible—at a resolution comparable to that of uncorrected microscopes—to increase the limiting aperture angle by a factor of 4–10. The electron gain then ranges between 16 and 100. This application of the corrector is, therefore, especially interesting for the PEEM mode.

Atomic Scale Analysis of Planar Defects in Polycrystalline Diamond

Planar defects in a polycrystalline diamond film were studied by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). In both modes, sub-Angstrom resolution was achieved by making use of two aberration-corrected systems; a TEM and a STEM C(s)-corrected microscope, each operated at 300 kV. For the first time, diamond in (110) zone-axis orientation was imaged in STEM mode at a resolution that allows for resolving the atomic dumbbells of carbon at a projected interatomic distance of 89 pm. Twin boundaries that show approximately the sigma3 CSL structure reveal at sub-Angstrom resolution imperfections; that is, local distortions, which break the symmetry of the ideal sigma3 type twin boundary, are likely present. In addition to these imperfect twin boundaries, voids on the atomic level were observed. It is proposed that both local distortions and small voids enhance the mechanical toughness of the film by locally increasing the critical stress intensity factor.