Toward electron exit wave tomography of amorphous materials at atomic resolution

Journal article

We suggest to use electron exit wave phase for tomographic reconstruction of structure of Au-doped amorphous Si with atomic resolution. In the present theoretical investigation into the approach it is found that the number of projections and the accuracy of defocus in the focal series restoration are the main factors that contribute to the final resolution. Although resolution is ultimately limited by these factors, phase shifts in the exit wave are sufficient to identify the position of Au atoms in an amorphous Si needle model, even when only 19 projections with defocus error of 4 nm are used. Electron beam damage will probably further limit the resolution of such tomographic reconstructions, however beam damage can be mitigated using lower accelerating voltages. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Authors: Borisenko, K; Moldovan, G; Kirkland, A; Van Dyck, D; Tang, H

• Journal: Journal of Alloys and Compounds
• Volume: 536
• Issue: SUPPL.1
• Publication date: 2012-09-25
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2011.11.095
• ISSN: 0925-8388
• Language: English
• Keywords: Amorphous materials; Electron tomography; Atomic structure; Electron exit wave