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Results for “atomically resolved secondary electron imaging”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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8 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Surface determination through atomically resolved secondary-electron imaging

We report that unique determination of the atomic structure of technologically relevant surfaces is often limited by both a need for homogeneous crystals and ambiguity of registration between the surface and bulk. Atomically resolved secondary-electron imaging is extremely sensitive to this registration and is compatible with faceted nanomaterials, but has not been previously utilized for surface structure determination. Here we show a detailed experimental atomic-resolution secondary-electron microscopy analysis of the c(6 x 2) reconstruction on strontium titanate (001) coupled with careful simulation of secondary-electron images, density functional theory calculations and surface monolayer-sensitive aberration-corrected plan-view high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Our work reveals several unexpected findings, including an amended registry of the surface on the bulk and strontium atoms with unusual seven-fold coordination within a typically high surface coverage of square pyramidal TiO 5 units. Lastly, dielectric screening is found to play a critical role in attenuating secondary-electron generation processes from valence orbitals.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Direct imaging of electron density with a scanning transmission electron microscope

Abstract Recent studies of secondary electron (SE) emission in scanning transmission electron microscopes suggest that material’s properties such as electrical conductivity, connectivity, and work function can be probed with atomic scale resolution using a technique known as secondary electron e-beam-induced current (SEEBIC). Here, we apply the SEEBIC imaging technique to a stacked 2D heterostructure device to reveal the spatially resolved electron density of an encapsulated WSe 2 layer. We find that the double Se lattice site shows higher emission than the W site, which is at odds with first-principles modelling of valence ionization of an isolated WSe 2 cluster. These results illustrate that atomic level SEEBIC contrast within a single material is possible and that an enhanced understanding of atomic scale SE emission is required to account for the observed contrast. In turn, this suggests that, in the future, subtle information about interlayer bonding and the effect on electron orbitals could be directly revealed with this technique.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Physical and Chemical Morphology of Passively Sampled Environmental Films

Environmental surface films are important mediators in the fate and transport of persistent organic pollutants (POP) via largely uncharacterized mechanisms. This work presents the first analysis of the physical and chemical morphology of passively sampled environmental films. The films are developed in urban, sub-urban, and metropolitan locations for timescales ranging from 1 to 52 weeks by exposing polished silicon wafers to collect passively deposited tropospheric particulate matter. The time-dependent spatial morphology of the films is analyzed by bright-field, scanning electron, and atomic force microscopies. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) imaging data are analyzed to report the film’s chemical morphology and speciation. We find that the film matrix presents an extremely complex physical and chemical system. Deposited PM sizes span six orders of magnitude (millimeter to nanometer regimes), and surface coverages range from ca. 5 % for one week films and ca. 98 % for 52 week films. We observe significant amounts of mineral dust, biogenic organics, and occasional indications of flora growth (i.e., spores). The films exhibit nanoscale surface features indicative of small particulate depositions as well as films of (semi)volatile molecules. SIMS imaging reveals diverse and sometimes segregated chemical domains of hydrocarbons, inorganics, metals, and proteinaceous macromolecules. This work presents the first spatially resolved physical and chemical surface characterization of native environmental films, beginning a study of mechanisms by which these films form, persist, and mature in the environment.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Influence of substrate miscut angle on surface morphology and luminescence properties of AlGaN

The influence of substrate miscut on Al{sub 0.5}Ga{sub 0.5} N layers was investigated using cathodoluminescence (CL) hyperspectral imaging and secondary electron imaging in an environmental scanning electron microscope. The samples were also characterized using atomic force microscopy and high resolution X-ray diffraction. It was found that small changes in substrate miscut have a strong influence on the morphology and luminescence properties of the AlGaN layers. Two different types are resolved. For low miscut angle, a crack-free morphology consisting of randomly sized domains is observed, between which there are notable shifts in the AlGaN near band edge emission energy. For high miscut angle, a morphology with step bunches and compositional inhomogeneities along the step bunches, evidenced by an additional CL peak along the step bunches, are observed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Nanometer scale structural and compositional inhomogeneities of half-Heusler CoTi 1-x Fe x Sb thin films

The correlative use of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and atom probe tomography (APT) allows the structure of substitutionally alloyed half-Heusler compound CoTi 1-x Fe x Sb to be characterized at the nanometer scale. For x = 0.2, 0.3, and 0.5, XRD patterns indicate an epitaxial cube-on-cube growth with no detectable secondary phases and are suggestive of high crystalline quality for all three of the films. This is supported using atomic resolution STEM images, which revealed the absence of secondary phases or polycrystalline regions, thus confirming the half-Heusler structure of the CoTi 1-x Fe x Sb films. For all three samples, the APT reconstructions were optimized to resolve the atomic planes in the [001] growth direction allowing the exploitation of reliable datasets. We note the presence of Fe-rich phases in the samples with Fe atoms sitting on Ti crystallographic sites is revealed. A strong phase separation is observed for x = 0.2 and x = 0.3 and is almost no longer observed for x = 0.5 in good agreement with the magnetic properties of the films.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Advanced Characterization of Thin Film Solar Cells

Polycrystalline thin-film solar cells have reached a levelized cost of energy that is competitive with all other sources of electricity. The technology has significantly improved in recent years, with laboratory cell efficiencies for cadmium telluride (CdTe), perovskites, and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) each exceeding 22 percent. Both CdTe and CIGS solar panels are now produced at the gigawatt scale. However, there are ongoing challenges, including the continued need to improve performance and stability while reducing cost. Advancing polycrystalline solar cell technology demands an in-depth understanding of efficiency, scaling, and degradation mechanisms, which requires sophisticated characterization methods. These methods will enable reseachers and manufacturers to improve future solar modules and systems. This work provides researchers with a concise overview of the status of thin-film solar cell technology and characterization. Chapters describe material systems and their properties and then provide an in-depth look at relevant characterization methods and the learning facilitated by each of these. Following an introductory chapter, the book provides systematic and thorough coverage of the following topics: trends to improve CdTe solar cell performance; Cu(In,Ga)Se2 and related materials; perovskite solar cells; photovoltaic device modelling; luminescence and thermal imaging of thin-film photovoltaic materials, devices, and modules; application of spatially resolved spectroscopy characterization techniques on Cu2ZnSnSe4 solar cells; time-resolved photoluminescence characterization of polycrystalline thin-film solar cells; fundamentals of electrical material and device spectroscopies applied to thin-film polycrystalline chalcogenide solar cells; nanometer-scale characterization of thin-film solar cells by atomic force microscopy-based electrical probes; scanning transmission electron microscopy characterization of solar cells; photoelectron spectroscopy methods in solar cell research; time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry and atom probe tomography; and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance characterization for photovoltaic applications. The final chapter provides an overview and describes future prospects.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗
DOE OSTI2014

Development of atomic layer deposition-activated microchannel plates for single particle detection at cryogenic temperatures

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology is used to nanoengineer functional films inside the pores of microchannel plate (MCP) electron multipliers, enabling a novel MCP manufacturing technology that substantially improves performance and opens novel applications. The authors have developed custom tools and recipes for the growth of conformal films, with optimized conductance and secondary electron emission inside very long channels (∼6–20 μm diameter and >600 μm length, with tens of millions of channels per single MCP) by ALD. The unique ability to tune the characteristics of these ALD films enables their optimization to applications where time-resolved single particle imaging can be performed in extreme conditions, such as high counting rates at cryogenic temperatures. Adhesion of the conductive and emissive nanofilms to the 20 μm pore MCP glass substrates and their mechanical stability over a very wide range of temperatures (10–700 K) were confirmed experimentally. Resistance of ALD MCPs was reproducible during multiple cool-down cycles with no film degradation observed. Optimizing resistance of novel MCPs for operation at cryogenic temperature should enable high count rate event detection at temperatures below 20 K.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗