Aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy with Zernike phase plates

Hettler, S. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Arenal, R.

Resumen: We explore the possibility of applying physical phase plates (PPs) in combination with aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Phase-contrast transfer characteristics are calculated and compared for a thin-film based Zernike PP, a hole-free (HF) or Volta PP and an electrostatic Zach PP, considering their phase-shifting properties in combination with partial spatial coherence. The effect of slightly converging illumination conditions, often used in high-resolution applications, on imaging with PPs is discussed. Experiments with an unheated Zernike PP applied to various nanomaterial specimens and a qualitative analysis clearly demonstrates the general compatibility of PPs and aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Calculations and experiments show the benefits of the approach, among which is a strong phase-contrast enhancement of a large range of spatial frequencies. This allows the simultaneous imaging of atomic-resolution structures and morphological features at the nanometer scale, with maximum phase contrast. The calculations can explain why the HFPP damps contrast transfer at higher spatial frequencies. © 2022 The Author(s)

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2022.113564

Año: 2022

Publicado en: Ultramicroscopy 239 (2022), 113564 [9 pp]
ISSN: 0304-3991

Factor impacto JCR: 2.2 (2022)

Categ. JCR: MICROSCOPY rank: 5 / 8 = 0.625 (2022) - Q3 - T2

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 5.2 - Physics and Astronomy (Q2) - Materials Science (Q2)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.794 - Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics (Q1) - Instrumentation (Q1) - Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials (Q1)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/E13-20R
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/823717/EU/Enabling Science and Technology through European Electron Microscopy/ESTEEM3
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/881603/EU/Graphene Flagship Core Project 3/GrapheneCore3
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/889546/EU/Properties of nanomaterials made from misfit-layered compounds revealed by electron microscopy and simulations/PROMISES
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO-AEI-FEDER/PID2019-104739GB-I00-AEI-10.13039-501100011033

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Física Materia Condensada (Dpto. Física Materia Condensa.)