3D reconstruction of a million atoms by multiple-section local-orbital tomography

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel electron tomography method called nLOT that combines two existing techniques to achieve high-resolution 3D atomic reconstructions of objects containing up to a million atoms.

Contribution

The paper presents the nLOT method, which integrates electron tomography and depth sectioning to improve 3D atomic resolution and object size in electron microscopy.

Findings

Achieves high spatial resolution in all three dimensions.

Reconstructs objects containing up to a million atoms.

Establishes a foundation for widespread atomic electron tomography applications.

Abstract

There exist two groups of electron microscopy methods that are capable of providing three-dimensional (3D) structural information of an object, i.e., electron tomography and depth sectioning. Electron tomography is capable of resolving atoms in all three dimensions, but the accuracy in atomic positions is low and the object size that can be reconstructed is limited. Depth sectioning methods give high positional accuracy in the imaging plane, but the spatial resolution in the third dimension is low. In this work, electron tomography and depth sectioning are combined to form a method called multiple-section local-orbital tomography, or nLOT in short. The nLOT method provides high spatial resolution and high positional accuracy in all three dimensions. The object size that can be reconstructed is extended to a million atoms. The present method establishes a foundation for the widespread application of atomic electron tomography.