Surface guided modes in an aluminum oxide thin film

Energy losses due to the excitation of surface guided waves have been observed in inelastic electron scattering from thin films of aluminum oxide.     

Radiolytic purification of CaO by electron beams

Analysis of the electron energy loss spectra of core-level electronic transitions, O K- and Ca L_2,3-edges, combined with composition-sensitive annular dark field imaging shows that under electron-beam irradiation portlandite can easily be transformed into calcium oxide. The low-loss region of the energy loss spectra measured before and after transformation also supports the observations. Two possible mechanisms of the electron beam-induced modification of the specimen, radiolysis and knock-on damage, are discussed, and it was found that radiolysis is likely to be the primary mechanism for this transformation of Ca(OH)₂ into CaO, while some knock-on damage is also expected.     

Critical role of inelastic interactions in quantitative electron microscopy

A semiquantitative correlation between experimental observations and theoretical prediction in electron microscopy is achieved. Experiments conducted on amorphous silicon in the convergent beam electron diffraction mode provide measurements of the reduction of the central-disk intensity. In addition to elastic scattering the effects of multiple inelastic scattering of the probe electrons were incorporated into the theory describing beam propagation through the specimen. With incorporation of the dominant plasmon scattering a better than 10% match of the theory with experiment is observed indicating the critical role of multiple inelastic scattering in quantitative electron diffraction and imaging.     

Polarization surface-charge density of single semiconductor quantum rods

Electrostatic force microscopy was used to determine that single CdSe quantum rods (QRs) have a permanent polarization surface-charge density, an unexpected observation for supposedly well-shaped particles. The surface charge results from a slight angle between the QR sides and the direction of internal electric polarization. By contrast, despite the large dipole moment expected for CdSe QRs, none was observed. The unavoidable presence of permanently charged surfaces on CdSe QRs has the potential to impede the development of novel devices incorporating these materials.     

The electron microscopy of thin metal foils

In this article, the nature of the defects in crystal structures and the way in which they can be studied by electron microscopy of thin metal foils are discussed in detail. Examples of phenomena observed in metals with the electron microscope are briefly presented. These include the dislocation structures introduced by work hardening, fatigue, quenching and irradiation; examples of microstructures found in alloys; and magnetic domain walls.     

Full recovery of electron damage in glass at ambient temperatures

An unusually complete recovery of extensive electron-beam-induced damage in a thin film of a CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 glass was discovered. Nanoscale measurements show that the Ca ions migrate about 10 nm away during irradiation and return during recovery. Oxygen atoms are trapped largely as molecular oxygen and do not migrate. Electron energy loss measurements demonstrate that the glass returns completely to the original compositional and structural state thus indicating that the glass is in a deep thermodynamic energy minimum.