Abstract
The continuing development of aberration correctors for the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) offers the possibility of locating single atoms in crystals in 3D via optical depth sectioning. The main factors that determine the feasibility of such an approach are visibility and dose requirements. Here, we show how Poisson's statistics can be quantitatively incorporated into STEM image simulations and demonstrate that the 3D location of single cerium atoms in wurtzite-type aluminum nitride is indeed feasible under large-angle illumination conditions with a relatively low dose. We also show that chromatic aberration does not presently represent a limitation provided a cold field emission source is used. These results suggest efforts into improved aberration corrector designs for larger illumination angles that offer significant potential for 3D structure determination of materials.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 163102 |
| Journal | Applied Physics Letters |
| Volume | 109 |
| Issue number | 16 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 17 2016 |
Funding
A part of this work was supported by the Research and Development Initiative for Scientific Innovation of New Generation Batteries (RISING II) project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Japan. R.I. used resources of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, which was supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. A.R.L. was supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division, U.S. Department of Energy. This research was supported under the Australian Research Council's Discovery Projects funding scheme (Project No. DP110102228).