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Structure and bonding at the atomic scale by scanning transmission electron microscopy

Nature Materials volume 8, pages 263–270 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

A new generation of electron microscopes is able to explore the microscopic properties of materials and devices as diverse as transistors, turbine blades and interfacial superconductors. All of these systems are made up of dissimilar materials that, where they join at the atomic scale, display very different behaviour from what might be expected of the bulk materials. Advances in electron optics have enabled the imaging and spectroscopy of these buried interface states and other nanostructures with atomic resolution. Here I review the capabilities, prospects and ultimate limits for the measurement of physical and electronic properties of nanoscale structures with these new microscopes.

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Figure 1: Compositional imaging at the atomic scale.
Figure 2: Hardware advances in imaging microscopies.
Figure 3: Major elements of a scanning transmission electron microscope.
Figure 4: Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) as a probe of local electronic structure and composition.
Figure 5: Electron energy-loss spectrum recorded point by point across a gate stack containing a thin gate oxide.
Figure 6: Phase space for operation of a scanning electron microscope at a fixed source brightness.
Figure 7: Direct demonstration of sub-ångström resolution ADF–STEM imaging.
Figure 8: Mapping surface plasmons on a silver nanoparticle by electron energy-loss spectroscopy.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by the Cornell Center for Materials Research, an NSF MRSEC, the Cornell Center for Nanoscale systems, an NSF NSEC, the ONR EMMA MURI and the Semiconductor Research Corporation.

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    David A. Muller

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Muller, D. Structure and bonding at the atomic scale by scanning transmission electron microscopy. Nature Mater 8, 263–270 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2380

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