New techniques for imaging and identifying defects in electron microscopy

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in electron microscopy techniques for imaging and identifying defects in crystalline materials, emphasizing new methods that improve defect characterization across scales and in dynamic environments.

Contribution

It introduces emerging approaches in scanning electron microscopy that enhance defect analysis, including correlative microscopy and in situ defect dynamics studies.

Findings

Emerging methods enable multi-scale defect imaging.

New techniques facilitate in situ defect dynamics observation.

Advances improve defect characterization in complex microstructures.

Abstract

Defects in crystalline materials control the properties of materials, and their characterization focuses our strategies to optimize performance. Electron microscopy has served as the backbone of our understanding of defect structure and their interactions owing to beneficial spatial resolution and contrast mechanisms that enable direct imaging of defects. These defects reside in complex microstructures and chemical environments, demanding a combination of experimental approaches for full defect characterization. In this article, we describe recent progress and trends in methods for examining defects using scanning electron microscopy platforms, where several emerging approaches offer attractive benefits, for instance in correlative microscopy across length scales and in situ studies of defect dynamics.