Direct imaging of hydrogen-atom columns in a crystal by annular bright-field electron microscopy

Self-assembled GaN nanowires on diamond

We demonstrate the nucleation of self-assembled, epitaxial GaN nanowires (NWs) on (111) single-crystalline diamond without using a catalyst or buffer layer. The NWs show an excellent crystalline quality of the wurtzite crystal structure with m-plane faceting, a low defect density, and axial growth along the c-axis with N-face polarity, as shown by aberration corrected annular bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction confirms single domain growth with an in-plane epitaxial relationship of (10 ̅10)(GaN) [parallel] (01 ̅1)(Diamond) as well as some biaxial tensile strain induced by thermal expansion mismatch. In photoluminescence, a strong and sharp excitonic emission reveals excellent optical properties superior to state-of-the-art GaN NWs on silicon substrates. In combination with the high-quality diamond/NW interface, confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy measurements, these results underline the potential of p-type diamond/n-type nitride heterojunctions for efficient UV optoelectronic devices.

Direct observation of crystal defects in an organic molecular crystals of copper hexachlorophthalocyanine by STEM-EELS

The structural analysis of crystal defects in organic thin films provides fundamental insights into their electronic properties for applications such as field effect transistors. Observation of crystal defects in organic thin films has previously been performed at rather low resolution by conventional transmission electron microscopy based on phase-contrast imaging. Herein, we apply for the first time annular dark-field imaging to the direct observation of grain boundaries in copper hexachlorophthalocyanine thin films at the atomic resolution level by using an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope combined with electron energy-loss spectroscopy. By using a low-dose technique and an optimized detection angle, we were able to visualize the contrast of light element (C and N) together with the heavier elements (Cl and Cu) within the molecular column. We were also able to identify unexpected molecular orientations in the grain boundaries along the {110} crystallographic planes giving rise to stacking faults.

Field mapping with nanometer-scale resolution for the next generation of electronic devices

In order to improve the performance of today's nanoscaled semiconductor devices, characterization techniques that can provide information about the position and activity of dopant atoms and the strain fields are essential. Here we demonstrate that by using a modern transmission electron microscope it is possible to apply multiple techniques to advanced materials systems in order to provide information about the structure, fields, and composition with nanometer-scale resolution. Off-axis electron holography has been used to map the active dopant potentials in state-of-the-art semiconductor devices with 1 nm resolution. These dopant maps have been compared to electron energy loss spectroscopy maps that show the positions of the dopant atoms. The strain fields in the devices have been measured by both dark field electron holography and nanobeam electron diffraction.

Grain boundary atomic structures and light-element visualization in ceramics: combination of Cs-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and first-principles calculations

Grain boundaries and interfaces of crystals have peculiar electronic structures, caused by the disorder in periodicity, providing the functional properties, which cannot be observed in a perfect crystal. In the vicinity of the grain boundaries and interfaces, dopants or impurities are often segregated, and they play a crucial role in deciding the properties of a material. Spherical aberration (Cs)-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), allowing the formation of sub-angstrom-sized electron probes, can directly observe grain boundary-segregated dopants. On the other hand, ceramic materials are composed of light elements, and these light elements also play an important role in the properties of ceramic materials. Recently, annular bright-field (ABF)-STEM imaging has been proposed, which is now known to be a very powerful technique in producing images showing both light- and heavy-element columns simultaneously. In this review, the atomic structure determination of ceramic grain boundaries and direct observation of grain boundary-segregated dopants and light elements in ceramics were shown to combine with the theoretical calculations. Examples are demonstrated for well-defined grain boundaries in rare earth-doped Al(2)O(3) and ZnO ceramics, CeO(2) and SrTiO(3) grain boundary, lithium battery materials and metal hydride, which were characterized by Cs-corrected high-angle annular dark-field and ABF-STEM. It is concluded that the combination of STEM characterization and first-principles calculation is very useful in interpreting the structural information and in understanding the origin of the properties in various ceramics.