Fundamentals and applications of aberration corrected high resolution transmission electron microscopy in materials science

TL;DR

This review discusses the fundamentals, techniques, and recent advancements in aberration corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscopy for atomic-scale materials characterization.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of aberration correction principles, image interpretation, and compares various phase contrast methods in materials science.

Findings

Enhanced atomic resolution imaging capabilities

Comparison of phase contrast methods for material analysis

Future prospects of TEM in solving complex materials problems

Abstract

In this review article fundamentals of aberration corrected phase contrast transmission electron microscopy for the structural characterization of materials at atomic length scale is presented. The word structure entails atomic arrangement as well as electronic structure information of the materials. The article summarily covers a range of topics on the basics of aberrations, aberration correctors, direct image interpretation with negative Cs phase contrast microscopy, a discussion in comparison with the competitive atomic resolution phase contrast methods for example, off-axis electron holography, electron ptychography, differential phase contrast microscopy. Additionally, various examples of quantitative imaging of materials at atomic length scale, associated image simulation and reconstruction methods for retrieving the phase information are presented. With the tremendous advancement in instrumentation and recording devices, potential future perspective of such tools and methods in solving challenging materials science problems are outlined.