New techniques and developments in high-resolution electron microscopy

High-resolution electron microscopy is often used for the structural and elemental analysis of nano-electronics materials. Various recently fabricated nanometer-sized structures, which could not be observed by scanning electron microscopy, have been successfully observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using the focused ion beam technique to prepare the cross-sections. Two examples of a device cross-section and of the analysis of a giant defect in CZ-Si are described. We also show that electron beam heating in a TEM is useful for in-situ observation of intermediate products in chemical reactions and of complicated processes of crystal growth. In this sense, an electron microscope can act as a ''nano-space lab'' for advanced materials research.