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Related Experiment Videos

Picometer-scale atom position analysis in annular bright-field STEM imaging.

Peng Gao1, Akihito Kumamoto2, Ryo Ishikawa2

  • 1Institute of Engineering Innovation, School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan; Electron Microscopy Laboratory, and International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing 100871, China.

Ultramicroscopy
|September 22, 2017
PubMed
Summary

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This summary is machine-generated.

Specimen mistilt in annular bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (ABF-STEM) can cause significant picometer-scale measurement errors. This study quantifies tilt effects, revealing they dominate over scan noise and drift in atomic structure analysis.

Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Physics
  • Chemistry

Background:

  • Annular bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (ABF-STEM) is crucial for atomic-scale structural analysis.
  • Accurate picometer-scale measurements are essential for understanding material properties.
  • Specimen tilt is a potential source of error in high-resolution microscopy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate and quantify the impact of specimen mistilt on picometer-scale structural measurements using ABF-STEM.
  • To develop a method for distinguishing tilt-induced artifacts from other image distortions.
  • To provide insights for improving experimental and data analysis procedures in ABF-STEM.

Main Methods:

  • Combined experimental and simulation approaches were employed.
Keywords:
Annular bright field (ABF)Picometer-scaleQuantitative ABFScanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM)Specimen tilt

Related Experiment Videos

  • A relative distance measurement method was developed to isolate tilt effects.
  • Analysis was performed on 25 nm thick SrTiO3 specimens along the [001] direction.

    • Main Results:

    • A small specimen tilt (∼6 mrad) induced an artificial displacement of 11.9 pm between atomic columns in ABF-STEM images.
    • This tilt-induced artifact was over three times larger than distortions from scan noise and sample drift (∼3.2 pm).
    • The magnitude of the artifact is influenced by mistilt angle, specimen thickness, defocus, convergence angle, and aberrations.

    Conclusions:

    • Specimen mistilt is a dominant factor in quantitative ABF-STEM analysis, potentially leading to misinterpretations of atomic structure.
    • Effective detection and correction of tilt effects are vital for accurate structural determination.
    • Understanding these artifacts is crucial for analyzing properties like oxygen octahedral distortion and shifts.