Locating La atoms in epitaxial Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 films through atomic resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy mapping

Abstract

Effects of W doping and annealing parameters on the ferroelectricity and fatigue properties of sputtered Bi 3.25 La 0.75 Ti 3 O 12 films J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 21, 787 (2003); 10.1116/1.1570840 Ferroelectric properties of Bi 3.25 La 0.75 Ti 3 O 12 thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition

Imaging, Core-Loss, and Low-Loss Electron-Energy-Loss Spectroscopy Mapping in Aberration-Corrected STEM

“…1). Although the La substitution for Bi and the recently identified preferential location (Gunawan et al, 2009) via EELS mapping are not considered in the simulation, there is an excellent overall agreement between the experiment (raw image, unprocessed) and calculations with the expected structure retrieved from the literature (Kim et al, 2007) where one can identify Bi 2 -O 2 bilayers separated by perovskite slabs. Based on the simulations, the fine contrast seen as a tail around the heavier Bi atoms is due to the Ti in the tilted octahedra of the perovskite slabs.…”

“…The improvements are due, first, to the increased electron beam current for probe sizes in the order of 1–2 Å and, second, to the benefits in improved stability of the entire instrument. Although the EELS mapping performance of various aberration-corrected microscopes varies due to the collection efficiency of the spectrometers and operation [e.g., acquisition times range from several seconds/pixel (Bosman et al, 2007; Kimoto et al, 2007) to down to 30 ms/pixel (Muller, 2009; Botton et al, 2010)], it is clear that atomic resolution information can now be retrieved on a range of samples and provide essential information to understand growth mechanisms, the chemistry at interfaces, as well as defects and materials properties (Colliex et al, 2009; Gunawan et al, 2009; Muller, 2009; Varela et al, 2009; Botton et al, 2010). Also, novel imaging methods made possible by the smaller probe in aberration-corrected microscopes make it possible to attempt the detection of lighter atoms in complex structures (Findlay et al, 2009).…”

Direct Evidence of Stacking Disorder in the Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductor Sr4Fe6O12+δ

“…Because of the incoherent nature of the signal, high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) STEM imaging provides directly interpretable and chemically sensitive images. Besides, as STEM can be combined with EELS to map the elemental distribution at atomic resolution, STEM-EELS has become a powerful tool to study the structure of materials, − and to characterize defects − and interfaces − on the atomic scale.…”

Towards artifact-free atomic-resolution elemental mapping with electron energy-loss spectroscopy

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Performed in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM), the technique uses an atomic-sized electron probe to excite core-level electrons in the sample, while detectors monitor the spectra of energy-loss electrons and/or the flux of characteristic x-rays. A wealth of atomic-scale information is provided, 3,4,[9][10][11] including the locations and species of atoms, i.e., elemental maps, and, in the case of electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), information on electronic bonding. While the benefits of using EELS over characteristic x-rays include superior detection efficiency, access to bonding information, and the ability to map light elements, atomic-resolution elemental maps acquired using EELS are, in fact, prone to artifacts associated with elastic scattering of the electron probe within the sample.…”