Optimizing the Environment for Sub-0.2nm Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy
01 January 2001
Sub-0.2nm probes can now be readily obtained on Schottky field-emission microscopes. However environmental instabilities are proving to be the limiting factors for atomic resolution spectroscopy and distortion-free annular-dark field imaging, as a result of the long acquisition times (comparable to those required for inline holography), and from the serial nature of the scanning system where instabilities result in image distortions rather than reductions in contrast. Troubleshooting the two most common environmental problems are discussed here.