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Accurate atomic positions from electron microscopy

Nature volume 311, pages 238–241 (1984)Cite this article

Abstract

Modern electron microscopes have resolutions in the range 1.8–2.4 Å which is, in principle, sufficient for structure determination at atomic resolution. High-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) has been widely used for studies of inorganic materials1, and computerized image processing of electron micrographs has been used for structure determinations of biological macromolecules2,3. Klug4 suggested that image processing could also be applied to electron micrographs of inorganic crystals. By combining the two powerful methods, HREM and computerized image processing, we have determined atomic coordinates (in projection) of metal atoms in a thin inorganic crystal, to an accuracy of 0.1 Å. This high accuracy is mainly due to the noise reduction achieved through averaging over many identical unit cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Structural Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, University of Stockholm, S-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Sven Hovmöller, Agneta Sjögren & George Farrants

  2. Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, University of Stockholm, S-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Margareta Sundberg & Bengt-Olov Marinder

Authors
  1. Sven Hovmöller
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  2. Agneta Sjögren
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  3. George Farrants
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  4. Margareta Sundberg
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  5. Bengt-Olov Marinder
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Hovmöller, S., Sjögren, A., Farrants, G. et al. Accurate atomic positions from electron microscopy. Nature 311, 238–241 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/311238a0

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