Journal article

Atom-Scale Ptychographic Electron Diffractive Imaging of Boron Nitride Cones

Corey T Putkunz, Adrian J D'Alfonso, Andrew J Morgan, Matthew Weyland, Christian Dwyer, Laure Bourgeois, Joanne Etheridge, Ann Roberts, Robert E Scholten, Keith A Nugent, Leslie J Allen

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS | AMER PHYSICAL SOC | Published : 2012

Abstract

Ptychographic coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) has been extensively applied using both x rays and electrons. The extension to atomic resolution has been elusive. This Letter demonstrates ptychographic electron diffractive imaging at atomic resolution, permitting identification of structure in a boron nitride helical cone at a resolution of order 1 Å, beyond that of comparative Z-contrast images. A scanning transmission electron microscope is used to create a diverging illumination in a defocused Fresnel CDI geometry, providing a robust strategy leading to a unique solution.

Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council


Funding Acknowledgements

The authors express gratitude to Professor Y. Bando (National Institute of Materials Science, Japan) for provision of the BN sample. Experimental work was performed at the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy, using instrumentation that was supported by the Australian Research Council infrastructure Grant No. LE0454166. This research was supported under Australian Research Council's Discovery Projects funding scheme (Project No. DP1096025).