Ultra-High Resolution Nano-Characterisation and Analysis Using Advanced S/TEM

As the frontiers of nanotechnology are expanded ever further, so too we must push back the boundaries of imaging and analysis. The need for tools that can deliver new, ultra-high resolution information is driving the development of electron microscopy and spectroscopy to the extremes of performance. For example, aberration-corrected TEM (transmission electron microscopy) and STEM (scanning transmission electron microscopy) gives us the ability to work at sub-angstrom length-scales. Combine this capability with an unprecedented electron beam energy resolution, and spectroscopy at the atomic level revealing knowledge about inter-atomic bonding becomes a fact. This enables full characterization of chemical composition, electronic structure and mechanical properties. In addition, there is scope for capturing time-resolved structural transformations with sub-nanometer detail, enabling us to directly observe and understand the dynamics of a range of chemical processes in situ.