Some Aspects of Exelfs Analysis in the Electron Microscope

Abstract

Recently, the applications area of analytical electron microscopy has been extended to include the study of Extended Energy Loss Fine Structure (EXELFS). Modulations past an ionization edge in the energy loss spectrum (EXELFS), contain atomic fine structure information similar to Extended X-ray Absorbtion Fine Structure (EXAFS). At low momentum transfer the main contribution to these modulations comes from interference effects between the outgoing excited inner shell electron waves and electron waves backscattered from the surrounding atoms. The ability to obtain atomic fine structure information (such as interatomic distances) combined with the spatial resolution of an electron microscope is unique and makes EXELFS an important microanalytical technique.