Determination of incommensurate modulated structure in Bi2Sr1.6La0.4CuO6+{\delta} by aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy

TL;DR

This study uses aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy and high-dimensional space description to analyze the incommensurate modulated structure in Bi2Sr1.6La0.4CuO6+δ, providing detailed atomic modulation functions.

Contribution

It introduces a combined approach of aberration-corrected TEM and HD space description to accurately determine modulation functions in incommensurate structures.

Findings

Similar IMS results from two imaging modes.

Size difference in atomic dots affects precision.

Modulation functions successfully determined.

Abstract

Incommensurate modulated structure (IMS) in Bi2Sr1.6La0.4CuO6+{\delta} (BSLCO) has been studied by aberration corrected transmission electron microscopy in combination with high-dimensional (HD) space description. Two images in the negative Cs imaging (NCSI) and passive Cs imaging (PCSI) modes were deconvoluted, respectively. Similar results as to IMS have been obtained from two corresponding projected potential maps (PPMs), but meanwhile the size of dots representing atoms in the NCSI PPM is found to be smaller than that in PCSI one. Considering that size is one of influencing factors of precision, modulation functions for all unoverlapped atoms in BSLCO were determined based on the PPM obtained from the NCSI image in combination with HD space description.