Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5466808 | Ultramicroscopy | 2017 | 9 Pages |
Abstract
A hybrid statistics-simulations based method for atom-counting from annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (ADF STEM) images of monotype crystalline nanostructures is presented. Different atom-counting methods already exist for model-like systems. However, the increasing relevance of radiation damage in the study of nanostructures demands a method that allows atom-counting from low dose images with a low signal-to-noise ratio. Therefore, the hybrid method directly includes prior knowledge from image simulations into the existing statistics-based method for atom-counting, and accounts in this manner for possible discrepancies between actual and simulated experimental conditions. It is shown by means of simulations and experiments that this hybrid method outperforms the statistics-based method, especially for low electron doses and small nanoparticles. The analysis of a simulated low dose image of a small nanoparticle suggests that this method allows for far more reliable quantitative analysis of beam-sensitive materials.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Materials Science
Nanotechnology
Authors
Annelies De wael, Annick De Backer, Lewys Jones, Peter D. Nellist, Sandra Van Aert,