Imaging: Clear crystal vision



The combined power of two techniques that probe matter at the atomic scale provides information about the structure and chemical composition of a crystal at an unprecedented level of detail, say researchers.Characterizing microstructures is important in various fields of science and technology. Semiconductor devices, for example, consist of nanometre-sized components, and the performance of the devices depends on the atomic microstructure.

Koji Kimoto and co-workers combine two current microscopy methods — scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) — having solved a number of technical problems, such as maintaining sufficient stability during measurements. This achievement allows them to continuously scan over a crystal surface, while taking spectroscopy measurements at each point. This results in two-dimensional maps of the positions of atoms of three different elements in various layers at and below the surface.

CONTACT

Koji KIMOTO (National Institute for Materials Science, Ibraki, Japan)

Tel: +81 29 860 4402; E-mail: KIMOTO.Koji@nims.go.jp