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Atomic Resolution Imaging of Surfaces By Electron Microscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

David J. Smith*
Affiliation:
Center for Solid State Science and Department of Physics Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona B5287.
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Abstract

The electron microscope can be operated in several different modes to provide atomic-level detail about surfaces. The REM technique with glancing-angle incidence permits the topography of bulk surfaces to be characterized with a resolution of better than 10A, and atomic-step-height features are visible. The standard TEM bright- and dark-field modes can also be used with appropriate samples to provide monolayer sensitivity. The profile imaging technique is ideal for following real-time dynamic processes. Typical vacuum levels ( ∼10−7 torr), and the lack of facilities for surface cleaning, currently impose a restriction on the materials which can be usefully studied in most available microscopes. Clean and well-defined environments for the sample, without any compromise of the microscope performance, will become increasingly common in the near future.

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Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1987

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