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Imaging of Metallic Nano-Particles Using PlasmOn/Valence Energy Loss Electrons

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

E.M. Hunt ,
Z.L. Wang ,
N.D. Evans  and
J.M. Hampikian
E.M. Hunt
Affiliation:
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA30332-0245
Z.L. Wang
Affiliation:
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA30332-0245
N.D. Evans
Affiliation:
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, TN37831-0117
J.M. Hampikian
Affiliation:
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA30332-0245
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Although crystal lattices can be determined reasonably well using high-resolution electron microscopy, determination of local chemistry at high spatial-resolution remains a challenge. An energy-filtering system has made it possible to perform chemically sensitive imaging in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). This type of imaging usually relies on the signal of the inner shell ionization edge, the intensity of which is affected by the threshold energy-loss and the ionization cross-section of the edge. Therefore, the spatial resolution of a core loss image image is strongly affected by the signal-to-noise ratio. In this respect, lower loss electrons from the plasmon or valence region of the energy loss spectrum (10-100 eV) are favorable for chemically sensitive imaging due to the much higher signal intensity, provided any delocalization effects are small in comparison to the required spatial resolution. Compositionally sensitive imaging using the aluminum plasmon energy-loss electrons has been shown to produce ∼2nm resolution for an atomically sharp Al/Ti interface.

Type
Analytical Electron Microscopy
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 3 , Issue S2: Proceedings: Microscopy & Microanalysis '97, Microscopy Society of America 55th Annual Meeting, Microbeam Analysis Society 31st Annual Meeting, Histochemical Society 48th Annual Meeting, Cleveland, Ohio, August 10-14, 1997 , August 1997 , pp. 1001 - 1002
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 1997

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References

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2. Hunt, E.M., Wang, Z.L., Evans, N.D., Hampikain, J.M., Micron, submitted 3-27-1997.Google Scholar

3. Wang, Z. L., Ultramicroscopy, in press, 1997.Google Scholar

4. Hunt, E.M., Hampikian, J.M., J. Mat. Sei., in press, 1996.Google Scholar

5. Hunt, E.M., Evans, N.D., Hampikian, J.M., Microscopy and Microanalysis 1996, p. 534, 1996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

6. Research sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMR-9624927; by the Division of Materials Sciences, U.S. Dept. of Energy, under contract DE-AC05-96OR22464 with Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corp., through the SHaRE Program under the contract DE-AC05-76OR00033 with Oak Ridge Associated Universities; and by the Office of Naval Research through the Molecular Design Institute at Georgia Institute of Technology.Google Scholar