Aberration Correction in Electron Microscopy

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Koops
Keyword(s):  
Phase Contrast ◽  
Collection Efficiency ◽  
Spherical Aberration ◽  
Objective Lens ◽  
Resolution Limit ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Electron Microscopes ◽  
Beam Transmission ◽  
Contrast Image ◽  
Fixed Beam

Most presently available fixed-beam transmission electron microscopes (FBEM) yield a resolution limit close to the theoretically predicted value which is determined by diffraction and by the spherical aberration of the objective lens. The larger the aperture the better is the collection efficiency of the elastically scattered electrons forming the image. To increase the useful objective aperture it is necessary to overcome the spherical aberration. In the case of a phase contrast image it is possible, at least in principle, to compensate the effect of the spherical aberration by subsequent holographic processing of the electron micrograph.

The ORNL Aberration-Corrected STEM/TEM Project

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (S2) ◽  
pp. 906-907
Author(s):  
L. F. Allard ◽  
E. Voelkl ◽  
D. A. Blom ◽  
T. A. Nolan ◽  
F. Kahl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spherical Aberration ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Dark Field ◽  
Electron Gun ◽  
Objective Lens ◽  
Resolution Limit ◽  
Oak Ridge ◽  
Transfer Characteristics ◽  
Dark Field Imaging ◽  
Electron Microscopes

Field emission electron microscopes operating at 200kV or 300kV and incorporating aberration correctors for either the incident electron probe or for the primary aberrations of the objective lens (OL) are currently under development for several laboratories in the world. OL-corrected instruments require monochromators for the electron beam, built into the electron gun prior to the accelerating stages, in order to optimize the contrast transfer characteristics of the objective lens to push the instrumental resolution limit to well beyond 0.1nm. This will allow the point resolution limit as controlled by the correction of spherical aberration Cs to potentially extend to the instrumental limit of better than 0.1nm. Figure 1 shows the contrast transfer characteristics of a Cs-corrected 200kV TEM, both without and with a beam monochromator.Dedicated STEM instruments such as the 300kV VG-603 and lOOkV VG-501 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and other VG instruments at Cornell University and IBM Co. are also being adapted (by Nion Co., Kirkland, WA) to incorporate aberration correctors for the incident probe. The aim is to improve the resolution of the VG-603 instrument in dark-field imaging mode, for example, from 0.13nm to 0.05nm. in another ORNL project, the High Temperature Materials Laboratory has contracted JEOL Ltd. to construct a STEM-TEM instrument with a probe corrector designed and built by CEOS GmbH (Heidelberg, Germany).

Plenary Special Lectures

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (S3) ◽  
pp. 11-14
Author(s):  
Harald Rose ◽  
Joris Dik
Keyword(s):  
Spherical Aberration ◽  
Rotational Symmetry ◽  
Objective Lens ◽  
Aberration Correction ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Resolution Limit ◽  
Space Charges ◽  
Rotationally Symmetric ◽  
Electron Microscopes

The correction of the aberrations of electron lenses is the long story of many seemingly fruitless efforts to improve the resolution of electron microscopes by compensating for aberrations of round electron lenses over a period of 50 years. The problem started in 1936 when Scherzer demonstrated that the chromatic and spherical aberrations of rotationally symmetric electron lenses are unavoidable. Moreover, the coefficients of these aberrations cannot be made sufficiently small. As a result, the resolution limit of standard electron microscopes equals about one hundred times the wavelength of the electrons, whereas modern light microscopes have reached a resolution limit somewhat smaller than the wavelength. In 1947, Scherzer found an ingenious way for enabling aberration correction. He demonstrated in a famous article that it is in theory possible to eliminate chromatic and spherical aberrations by lifting any one of the constraints of his theorem, either by abandoning rotational symmetry or by introducing time-varying fields, or space charges. Moreover, he proposed a multipole corrector compensating for the spherical aberration of the objective lens.

High-resolution electron holography of MgO

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 672-673
Author(s):  
T. Tanji ◽  
K. Urata ◽  
K. Ishizuka
Keyword(s):  
Image Processing ◽  
Wave Function ◽  
Spherical Aberration ◽  
Objective Lens ◽  
Electron Holography ◽  
Electron Wave Function ◽  
Resolution Limit ◽  
Electron Wave ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Resolution Electron

Electron holography is a useful application of a transmission electron microscope instrument equipped with a field emission gun (FE-TEM). The peculiarity of holography is ability to record and reconstruct the complex amplitude of an electron wave function. This characteristic makes many kinds of image processing applicable, for instance, image restoration and interferometry. Especially the correction of aberrations is expected to overcome the resolution limit owing to the spherical aberration of an electron objective lens. A few preliminary works have been reported, where a laser optical system or a digital computer system was used to reconstruct image waves and to correct the aberrations. The image qualities, however, were not enough to improve the point resolution.

Progress in Aberration-Corrected STEM

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (S2) ◽  
pp. 100-101
Author(s):  
N. Dellby ◽  
O.L. Krivanek ◽  
A.R. Lupini
Keyword(s):  
Second Generation ◽  
Spherical Aberration ◽  
Chromatic Aberration ◽  
Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope ◽  
Aberration Correction ◽  
Resolution Limit ◽  
Contrast Imaging ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Scanning Transmission ◽  
Fixed Beam

Electron probe formation in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) has two properties that maximize the benefits of spherical aberration correction: the smallest and brightest probes are formed when all the geometric aberrations are set to zero, and the size of the probe is not greatly affected by the presence of chromatic aberration. This contrasts with the case of conventional, fixed-beam TEM (CTEM), in which optimized phase-contrast imaging demands a non-zero spherical aberration coefficient (Cs), and chromatic aberration constitutes a major resolution limit. As a result, a consensus is presently emerging that the benefits of aberration correction will be felt most strongly in STEM.Our efforts in Cs-corrected STEM have progressed from a proof-of-principle Cs corrector [1] to an optimized second-generation design [2]. The corrector in both cases is of the quadrupole-octupole type. The second-generation corrector uses separate quadrupoles and octupoles, and concentrates on maximizing the octupole strength.

Image resolution in conventional transmission electron microscopy

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 468-469
Author(s):  
Mehmet Sarikaya ◽  
James M. Howe
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Phase Contrast ◽  
Spherical Aberration ◽  
Dark Field ◽  
Image Resolution ◽  
Objective Lens ◽  
Contrast Imaging ◽  
Conventional Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron

The image resolution in bright-field (BF) and dark-field (DF) conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is given by: r = 0.66 CS¼¾¾, where Cs and ¾ are the spherical aberration coefficient of the objective lens and electron wavelength, respectively. Based on this formula, it should be possible to resolve single atoms or clusters of atoms by phase contrast imaging with a highly coherent electron beam and a properly defocused objective lens; this has been demonstrated for both BF and DF imaging. However, for most situations encountered in conventional TEM, the type of information that can be obtained about the specimen is the most important, rather than the instrumental resolution. Atomicresolution microscopy of crystalline specimens relies on phase contrast produced when two or more beams interfere to form an image and this is discussed elsewhere in this symposium. This paper discusses the contrast and resolution when either a single beam or diffuse scattering is used to form an image.

Multi-dimensional and multi-signal approaches in scanning transmission electron microscopes

2009 ◽  
Vol 367 (1903) ◽  
pp. 3845-3858 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Colliex ◽  
N. Brun ◽  
A. Gloter ◽  
D. Imhoff ◽  
M. Kociak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Resolution ◽  
Spherical Aberration ◽  
Objective Lens ◽  
Performance Limits ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Scanning Transmission ◽  
Successful Design ◽  
Electron Microscopes ◽  
Data Acquisition And Processing ◽  
Available Information

Developments in instrumentation are essential to open new fields of science. This clearly applies to electron microscopy, where recent progress in all hardware components and in digitally assisted data acquisition and processing has radically extended the domains of application. The demonstrated breakthroughs in electron optics, such as the successful design and practical realization and the use of correctors, filters and monochromators, and the permanent progress in detector efficiency have pushed forward the performance limits, in terms of spatial resolution in imaging, as well as for energy resolution in electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and for sensitivity to the identification of single atoms. As a consequence, the objects of the nanoworld, of natural or artificial origin, can now be explored at the ultimate atomic level. The improved energy resolution in EELS, which now encompasses the near-IR/visible/UV spectral domain, also broadens the range of available information, thus providing a powerful tool for the development of nanometre-level photonics. Furthermore, spherical aberration correctors offer an enlarged gap in the objective lens to accommodate nanolaboratory-type devices, while maintaining angström-level resolution for general characterization of the nano-object under study.

Comparison of Deterministic and Linear Cosine Spatial Filtering of Transmission Electron Micrographs

1972 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 596-597
Author(s):  
David A. Ansley
Keyword(s):  
Spherical Aberration ◽  
Focal Length ◽  
Chromatic Aberration ◽  
Spatial Filter ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Objective Lens ◽  
List Type ◽  
Spatial Filters ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Wide Range

The coherence of the electron flux of a transmission electron microscope (TEM) limits the direct application of deconvolution techniques which have been used successfully on unmanned spacecraft programs. The theory assumes noncoherent illumination. Deconvolution of a TEM micrograph will, therefore, in general produce spurious detail rather than improved resolution.A primary goal of our research is to study the performance of several types of linear spatial filters as a function of specimen contrast, phase, and coherence. We have, therefore, developed a one-dimensional analysis and plotting program to simulate a wide 'range of operating conditions of the TEM, including adjustment of the:(1) Specimen amplitude, phase, and separation(2) Illumination wavelength, half-angle, and tilt(3) Objective lens focal length and aperture width(4) Spherical aberration, defocus, and chromatic aberration focus shift(5) Detector gamma, additive, and multiplicative noise constants(6) Type of spatial filter: linear cosine, linear sine, or deterministic

Characteristics of an Electrostatic Phase Plate

1972 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 618-619
Author(s):  
William Krakow ◽  
Benjamin Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Phase Contrast ◽  
Objective Lens ◽  
Phase Plate ◽  
Net Charge ◽  
Phase Plates ◽  
Beam Currents ◽  
Contrast Image ◽  
Bright Phase ◽  
Additional Phase Shift ◽  
Additional Phase

Unwin has used a metallized non-conducting thread in the back focal plane of the objective lens that stops out a portion of the unscattered beam, takes on a localized positive charge and thus produces an additional phase shift to give a different transfer function of the lens. Under the particular conditions Unwin used, the phase contrast image was shifted to bright phase contrast for optimum focus.We have investigated the characteristics of this type of electrostatic phase plate, both analytically and experimentally, as functions of the magnitude of charge and defocus. Phase plates have been constructed by using Wollaston wire to mount 0.25μ diameter platinum wires across apertures ranging from 50 to 200μ diameter and vapor depositing SiO and gold on the mounted wires to give them the desired charging characteristics. The net charge was varied by adjusting only the bias on the Wehnelt shield of the gun, and hence the beam currents and effective size of the source.

7-beam lattice images of (110) oriented Ge

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 290-291
Author(s):  
J.R. Parsons ◽  
C.W. Hoelke
Keyword(s):  
Image Features ◽  
Objective Lens ◽  
Lattice Plane ◽  
Lattice Image ◽  
Crystalline Defects ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Lattice Images ◽  
Electron Microscopes ◽  
Structural Aspects ◽  
Beam Lattice

The direct imaging of a crystal lattice has intrigued electron microscopists for many years. What is of interest, of course, is the way in which defects perturb their atomic regularity. There are problems, however, when one wishes to relate aperiodic image features to structural aspects of crystalline defects. If the defect is inclined to the foil plane and if, as is the case with present 100 kV transmission electron microscopes, the objective lens is not perfect, then terminating fringes and fringe bending seen in the image cannot be related in a simple way to lattice plane geometry in the specimen (1).The purpose of the present work was to devise an experimental test which could be used to confirm, or not, the existence of a one-to-one correspondence between lattice image and specimen structure over the desired range of specimen spacings. Through a study of computed images the following test emerged.

Resolution in the Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope

1972 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 454-455
Author(s):  
M. G. R. Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscope ◽  
Spherical Aberration ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope ◽  
Dark Field ◽  
Objective Lens ◽  
Scanning Transmission Electron ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Scanning Transmission

The variation of contrast and signal to noise ratio with change in detector solid angle in the high resolution scanning transmission electron microscope was discussed in an earlier paper. In that paper the conclusions were that the most favourable conditions for the imaging of isolated single heavy atoms were, using the notation in figure 1, either bright field phase contrast with β0⋍0.5 α0, or dark field with an annular detector subtending an angle between ao and effectively π/2.The microscope is represented simply by the model illustrated in figure 1, and the objective lens is characterised by its coefficient of spherical aberration Cs. All the results for the Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM) may with care be applied to the Conventional Electron Microscope (CEM). The object atom is represented as detailed in reference 2, except that ϕ(θ) is taken to be the constant ϕ(0) to simplify the integration. This is reasonable for θ ≤ 0.1 θ0, where 60 is the screening angle.

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