Practical aspects of removing the effects of elastic and thermal diffuse scattering from spectroscopic data for single crystals

Current opinion on the prospect of mapping electronic orbitals in the transmission electron microscope: State of the art, challenges and perspectives

The concept of electronic orbitals has enabled the understanding of a wide range of physical and chemical properties of solids through the definition of, for example, chemical bonding between atoms. In the transmission electron microscope, which is one of the most used and powerful analytical tools for high-spatial-resolution analysis of solids, the accessible quantity is the local distribution of electronic states. However, the interpretation of electronic state maps at atomic resolution in terms of electronic orbitals is far from obvious, not always possible, and often remains a major hurdle preventing a better understanding of the properties of the system of interest. In this review, the current state of the art of the experimental aspects for electronic state mapping and its interpretation as electronic orbitals is presented, considering approaches that rely on elastic and inelastic scattering, in real and reciprocal spaces. This work goes beyond resolving spectral variations between adjacent atomic columns, as it aims at providing deeper information about, for example, the spatial or momentum distributions of the states involved. The advantages and disadvantages of existing experimental approaches are discussed, while the challenges to overcome and future perspectives are explored in an effort to establish the current state of knowledge in this field. The aims of this review are also to foster the interest of the scientific community and to trigger a global effort to further enhance the current analytical capabilities of transmission electron microscopy for chemical bonding and electronic structure analysis.

Real-space visualization of intrinsic magnetic fields of an antiferromagnet

Characterizing magnetic structures down to atomic dimensions is central to the design and control of nanoscale magnetism in materials and devices. However, real-space visualization of magnetic fields at such dimensions has been extremely challenging. In recent years, atomic-resolution differential phase contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy (DPC STEM)¹ has enabled direct imaging of electric field distribution even inside single atoms². Here we show real-space visualization of magnetic field distribution inside antiferromagnetic haematite (α-Fe₂O₃) using atomic-resolution DPC STEM in a magnetic-field-free environment³. After removing the phase-shift component due to atomic electric fields and improving the signal-to-noise ratio by unit-cell averaging, real-space visualization of the intrinsic magnetic fields in α-Fe₂O₃ is realized. These results open a new possibility for real-space characterization of many magnetic structures.

Advances and Applications of Atomic-Resolution Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy

Although scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images of individual heavy atoms were reported 50 years ago, the applications of atomic-resolution STEM imaging became wide spread only after the practical realization of aberration correctors on field-emission STEM/TEM instruments to form sub-Ångstrom electron probes. The innovative designs and advances of electron optical systems, the fundamental understanding of electron–specimen interaction processes, and the advances in detector technology all played a major role in achieving the goal of atomic-resolution STEM imaging of practical materials. It is clear that tremendous advances in computer technology and electronics, image acquisition and processing algorithms, image simulations, and precision machining synergistically made atomic-resolution STEM imaging routinely accessible. It is anticipated that further hardware/software development is needed to achieve three-dimensional atomic-resolution STEM imaging with single-atom chemical sensitivity, even for electron-beam-sensitive materials. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big-data science are expected to significantly enhance the impact of STEM and associated techniques on many research fields such as materials science and engineering, quantum and nanoscale science, physics and chemistry, and biology and medicine. This review focuses on advances of STEM imaging from the invention of the field-emission electron gun to the realization of aberration-corrected and monochromated atomic-resolution STEM and its broad applications.

Inelastic Scattering in Electron Backscatter Diffraction and Electron Channeling Contrast Imaging

Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and electron channeling contrast imaging (ECCI) are used to extract crystallographic information from bulk samples, such as their crystal structure and orientation as well as the presence of any dislocation and grain boundary defects. These techniques rely on the backscattered electron signal, which has a large distribution in electron energy. Here, the influence of plasmon excitations on EBSD patterns and ECCI dislocation images is uncovered by multislice simulations including inelastic scattering. It is shown that the Kikuchi band contrast in an EBSD pattern for silicon is maximum at small energy loss (i.e., few plasmon scattering events following backscattering), consistent with previous energy-filtered EBSD measurements. On the other hand, plasmon excitation has very little effect on the ECCI image of a dislocation. These results are explained by examining the role of the characteristic plasmon scattering angle on the intrinsic contrast mechanisms in EBSD and ECCI.

Electron channelling: challenges and opportunities for compositional analysis of nanowires by TEM

Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy in a transmission electron microscope is often the first method employed to characterize the composition of nanowires. Ideally, it should be accurate and sensitive down to fractions of an atomic percent, and quantification results are often reported as such. However, one can often get substantial errors in accuracy even though the precision is high: for nanowires it is common for the quantified V/III atomic ratios to differ noticeably from 1. Here we analyse the origin of this systematic error in accuracy for quantification of the composition of III-V nanowires. By varying the electron illumination direction, we find electron channelling to be the primary cause, being responsible for errors in quantified V/III atomic ratio of 50%. Knowing the source of the systematic errors is required for applying appropriate corrections. Lastly, we show how channelling effects can provide information on the crystallographic position of dopants.

Simulation in elemental mapping using aberration-corrected electron microscopy

Elemental mapping at the atomic scale in aberration-corrected electron microscopes is becoming increasingly widely used. In this paper we describe the essential role of simulation in understanding the underlying physics and thus in correctly interpreting these maps, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Local observation of the site occupancy of Mn in a MnFePSi compound

MnFePSi compounds are promising materials for magnetic refrigeration as they exhibit a giant magnetocaloric effect. From first principles calculations and experiments on bulk materials, it has been proposed that this is due to the Mn and Fe atoms preferentially occupying two different sites within the atomic lattice. A recently developed technique was used to deconvolve the obscuring effects of both multiple elastic scattering and thermal diffuse scattering of the probe in an atomic resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy investigation of a MnFePSi compound. This reveals, unambiguously, that the Mn atoms preferentially occupy the 3g site in a hexagonal crystal structure, confirming the theoretical predictions. After deconvolution, the data exhibit a difference in the Fe L_{2,3} ratio between the 3f and 3g sites consistent with differences in magnetic moments calculated from first principles, which are also not observed in the raw data.