Abstract
Researchers have used a One Angstrom transmission electron microscope to image lithium atoms. Only atoms of hydrogen and helium are smaller and lighter than those of lithium, which under ordinary conditions is not a gas but a soft, white metal. Yang Shao-Horn of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the MIT and Michael O'Keefe of Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences division used the OÅM to simultaneously resolve columns of lithium, cobalt, and oxygen atoms in the compound lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO 2). The structure of LiCoO 2 is known theoretically and has been confirmed with x-ray diffraction and neutron powder diffraction: layers of lithium atoms lie between slabs of cobalt and oxygen, which are arranged in octahedrons. Experimental imaging of the lithium ions and vacancies proved difficult in this study,” says Shao-Horn. “Nevertheless, the atomic resolution of lithium atoms is a novel and significant achievement, with implications for better understanding not only of lithium ion battery materials but of many other electroceramic materials as well.” This is a short news story only. Visit www.three-fives.com for the latest advanced semiconductor industry news.
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