Atomic structural characterization of multiple quantum wells by aberration-corrected STEM

Abstract

Resolving and identifying the structure and composition of atoms in a solid material at atomic resolution has been a long-standing goal of analytical microscopy. Controlling crystalline interfaces at the atomic scale is now actively being research in the broader range of materials science and device engineering fields. However, the atomic resolution of electron optics instrument was limited by the unavoidable aberration. Aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) equipped with electron energy loss spectrometer (EELS) and energy distribution spectrometer (EDS) has proved most effective in measuring not only image of atom arrangement, but also the chemical composition. High resolution power provides much improved sensitivity to atomic arrangements at defects and interfaces, down to the atomic level.