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Journal of Electron Microscopy Advance Access originally published online on August 25, 2005
Journal of Electron Microscopy 2005 54(3):169-180; doi:10.1093/jmicro/dfi036
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Published by Oxford University Press 2005

HRTEM imaging of atoms at sub-Ångström resolution

Michael A. O'Keefe1,*, Lawrence F. Allard2 and Douglas A. Blom2

1 Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, MS 2R200, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA and 2 Metals and Ceramics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6064, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: maok{at}lbl.gov

John Cowley and his group at Arizona State University pioneered the use of transmission electron microscopy for high-resolution imaging. Images were achieved three decades ago showing the crystal unit cell content at better than 4 Å resolution. This achievement enabled researchers to pinpoint the positions of heavy atom columns within the unit cell. Lighter atoms appear as resolution is improved to sub-Ångström levels. Currently, advanced microscopes can image the columns of the light atoms (carbon, oxygen, nitrogen) that are present in many complex structures, and even the lithium atoms present in some battery materials. Sub-Ångström imaging, initially achieved by focal-series reconstruction of the specimen exit surface wave, will become commonplace for next-generation electron microscopes with CS-corrected lenses and monochromated electron beams. Resolution can be quantified in terms of peak separation and inter-peak minimum, but the limits imposed on the attainable resolution by the properties of the microscope specimen need to be considered. At extreme resolution the ‘size’ of atoms can mean that they will not be resolved even when spaced farther apart than the resolution of the microscope.

Keywords     sub-Ångström, atomic-resolution, high-resolution electron microscopy, focal-series reconstruction, exit-surface wave, software aberration correction

Received     25 January 2005, accepted 5 April 2005


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