Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 19, 2026
Quantitative Atomic-Site Analysis of Functional Dopants/Point Defects in Crystalline Materials by Electron-Channeling-Enhanced Microanalysis
Published on: May 10, 2021
Estimating the dopant distribution in Ca-doped α-SiAlON: statistical HAADF-STEM analysis and large-scale atomic
Norihito Sakaguchi1, Fuuta Yamaki2, Genki Saito2
1Laboratory of Integrated Function Materials, Center for Advanced Research of Energy and Materials, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Kita-13, Nishi-8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan sakaguchi@eng.hokudai.ac.jp.
Abstract:
We investigated the dopant distribution in Ca-doped α-SiAlON by using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy and a multi-slice image simulation. Our results showed that the electron wave propagated by hopping to adjacent Si(Al) and N(O) columns. The image intensities of the Ca columns had wider dispersions than other columns. To estimate the Ca distribution in the bulk material, we performed a Monte Carlo atomic simulation of the α-SiAlON with Ca dopants. A model including a short-range Coulomb-like repulsive force between adjacent Ca atoms reproduced the dispersion of the intensity distribution of the Ca column in the experimental image.
