Annular Bright-Field Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy: Direct and Robust Atomic-Resolution Imaging of Light Elements in Crystalline Materials

Abstract

Annular dark-field (ADF) methods in aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) produce directly interpretable images of atomic columns where the brightness in each atomic column increases with the atomic number of the elements in the column. An alternative technique described here called annular brightfield (ABF) also produces directly interpretable images of atomic columns but with the added advantage that light elements can be more easily detected. Examples of ABF imaging are shown that demonstrate imaging of oxygen and lithium columns in various ceramic materials.