Article
Microscopy
Binbin Wang, Nuria Bagues, Tao Liu, Roland K. Kawakami, David W. McComb
Summary: Researchers have successfully extracted magnetic contrast from complex background contrast through various methods, achieving real space imaging of nanoscale magnetic behavior, which is crucial for the development of highly integrated spin electronics.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Gary W. Paterson, Gavin M. Macauley, Stephen McVitie, Yoshihiko Togawa
Summary: In the first part of this work, we introduce the TEM-DPC technique for quantifying phase gradients of samples with structural contrast, compared to the TIE method. The TEM-DPC technique is particularly suitable for in situ studies and complements the TIE method due to its ability to handle structural contrast.
MICROSCOPY AND MICROANALYSIS
(2021)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Christian Dwyer
Summary: New-generation transmission electron microscopes (TEMs) have detectors that approach the shot-noise limit. This study explores the quantum limits of electron scattering experiments in TEMs and provides quantitative answers using quantum estimation theory. It shows that achieving the quantum limit is possible under conditions of weak scattering, but not strong multiple scattering. The implications for structure determination of radiation-sensitive materials are discussed.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Laura E. Abramiuc, Liviu C. Tanase, Mauricio J. Prieto, Lucas de Souza Caldas, Aarti Tiwari, Nicoleta G. Apostol, Marius A. Husanu, Cristina F. Chirila, Lucian Trupina, Thomas Schmidt, Lucian Pintilie, Cristian M. Teodorescu
Summary: The free surface ferroelectric properties of thin polar films can be studied by estimating band bending variance or by analyzing the extrinsic charge outside the surface. In this study, the ferroelectric lead zirco-titanate (PZT) is investigated using a combination of low energy/mirror electron microscopy (LEEM/MEM), photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM), and high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results show a significant accumulation of extrinsic negative compensation charge on the outward polarized thin film surface, indicating a correlation with the surface electrostatic potential. It is observed that air-exposed high-quality ferroelectric thin films have large negative surface potentials, which are sensitive to beam damage and molecular desorption.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Ruofei Wu, Jiaxiong Luo, Jiancong Li, Hanbao Chen, Junrui Zhen, Sicong Zhu, Zicong Luo, Yanxiong Wu
Summary: This study proposes an aberration correction method (AA-P algorithm) based on an improved phase recovery strategy, which optimizes the spectral function and optical pupil function updates of the samples using adaptive modulation factors added during the iterations. Experimental results show that the proposed AA-P algorithm can recover complex amplitude images with clearer contours and higher phase contrast in optical systems with hybrid aberrations. The algorithm improves the image reconstruction quality by 82.6% compared to the existing EPRY-FPM algorithm.
JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL OPTICS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Dolev Roitman, Roy Shiloh, Peng-Han Lu, Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski, Ady Arie
Summary: Electron beam shaping technology using sculpted thin films allows for shaping of electron beams, studying physical phenomena of specific electron beams, and improving technological applications in electron microscopy. This technology enhances resolution in different imaging modes and provides practical insights for future advancements in the field.
Article
Microscopy
Rodney A. Herring
Summary: This article introduces the application of differential phase contrast based on diffracted beam interferometry in phase contrast imaging of amorphous thin film materials. By utilizing the Bragg diffraction effect of the Au crystal substrate and the different positions of the amorphous material on the substrate, differential phase contrast imaging of the amorphous material specimen is achieved.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Yang Liu, Bingxi Liu, John Green, Carly Duffy, Ming Song, James D. Lauderdale, Peter Kner
Summary: The combination of an electrically tunable lens and adaptive optics allows for high-resolution imaging of a volume of 499 x 499 x 192 cubic micrometers. Compared to a system without adaptive optics, the signal to background ratio has increased by a factor of 3.5. While the current imaging speed is 7s/volume, it should be easy to increase it to under 1s per volume.
BIOMEDICAL OPTICS EXPRESS
(2023)
Article
Optics
Yue Wang, Jiarui Lei, Jianfeng Zheng, Xulongoi Wang, Miao Cheng, Ming Liu, Junan Zhang, Weibin Chen, Xiaoyao Hu, Weizhong Gu, Shiwei Guo, Xiaobo Hu, Zhigang Gao, Dong Liu
Summary: A microscope requires careful assembly, alignment, and testing due to its complex lenses. Chromatic aberration correction is important but can increase weight and cost. However, this paper proposes an algorithm that shifts some correction tasks to post-processing, achieving higher-quality images without changing hardware or optical parameters.
Article
Optics
Harshal Chaudhari, Rishikesh Kulkarni, Pradeep Kumar Sundaravadivelu, Rajkumar P. Thummer, M. K. Bhuyan
Summary: A dimensionality reduction technique based on singular value decomposition (SVD) is proposed for the aberration and spurious fringe removal in off-axis digital holographic microscopy. The phase aberration and spurious fringe compensated phase estimate is obtained by appropriate selection of singular values for denoising the phase image. The filtering procedure is implemented to remove artifacts caused by SVD along the x and y axis by rotating the phase image a fixed number of times.
OPTICS AND LASERS IN ENGINEERING
(2024)
Correction
Microscopy
S. Poellath, T. Lin, N. Lei, W. Zhao, J. Zweck, C. H. Back
Summary: There are several errors in the text and Fig. 3 of the article on Ultramicroscopy 212 (2020) 112973, including minor confusions about skyrmion helicities and a wrong orientation of a color wheel. The correction factors for finite probe sizes have been based on an erratic simulation, leading to different error values for the measured skyrmion size. However, these flaws do not impact the main message of the paper.
Article
Optics
Chiara Bonati, Damien Loterie, Timothe Laforest, Christophe Moser
Summary: A lock-in method is introduced to enhance the phase contrast in incoherent differential phase contrast (DPC) imaging. By analog removal of the background, this method improves the phase sensitivity. Experimental results show an 8-fold increase in sensitivity and a 70-fold reduction in data collection compared to standard DPC measurements. The method achieves a single-shot sensitivity of 0.7 mrad at a frame rate of 1400 frames per second. This approach opens up possibilities for the use of incoherent phase microscopy in biological applications requiring high phase sensitivity and millisecond response time.
PHOTONICS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Robert Streubel, D. Simca Bouma, Frank Bruni, Xiaoqian Chen, Peter Ercius, Jim Ciston, Alpha T. N'Diaye, Sujoy Roy, Steve D. Kevan, Peter Fischer, Frances Hellman
Summary: Experimental evidence of 3D chiral spin textures, including helical spins and skyrmions with different chirality and topological charge, has been reported in amorphous Fe-Ge thick films. These results demonstrate that structurally and chemically disordered materials can resemble inversion symmetry broken systems with similar magnetic properties, moments, and states, providing greater flexibility in materials synthesis, voltage, and strain manipulation.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Ranjan Kalita, William Flanagan, Jonathan Lightley, Sunil Kumar, Yuriy Alexandrov, Edwin Garcia, Mark Hintze, Michalis Barkoulas, Chris Dunsby, Paul M. W. French
Summary: The proposed technique utilizes a polarization-sensitive camera to simultaneously acquire four images for calculating phase-contrast images. This polarisation-resolved differential phase contrast (pDPC) microscopy technique can be easily integrated with fluorescence microscopy.
JOURNAL OF BIOPHOTONICS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Yuzhou Xiao, Fengjiao Qian, Xin Gao, Run Zhao, Xuefei Miao, H. Yang
Summary: The study successfully fabricated MnCoGe-based thin films using the pulsed laser deposition technique and found that the annealed film showed reversible magnetic-structural transitions at 250°C, resulting in a reversible magnetocaloric effect.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Physics, Applied
A. F. McKenzie, B. C. King, K. J. Rae, S. Thoms, N. D. Gerrard, J. R. Orchard, K. Nishi, K. Takemasa, M. Sugawara, R. J. E. Taylor, D. T. D. Childs, D. A. MacLaren, R. A. Hogg
Summary: By using metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy regrowth, air voids embedded in GaAs-based photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers have been engineered with two different geometries achieved by modifying the photonic crystal grating profile within the reactor prior to regrowth. The mechanism of void formation was inferred through scanning transmission electron microscopy analysis, utilizing the competition between rapid lateral growth of the (100) surface and slow diffusion across higher index planes to increase void volume. This led to a tenfold reduction in threshold current and an increase in output power by strengthening grating coupling.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Physics, Applied
Rowan C. Temple, Mark C. Rosamond, Jamie R. Massey, Trevor P. Almeida, Edmund H. Linfield, Damien McGrouther, Stephen McVitie, Thomas A. Moore, Christopher H. Marrows
Summary: The B2-ordered alloy FeRh undergoes a metamagnetic phase transition at a critical temperature of around 380K, which can be triggered by various means. Research has shown that a phase boundary controlled by a doping gradient in a nano-pillar can be shifted by an electrical current, leading to memristive properties in resistive changes, suggesting potential applications in memory cells or artificial synapses in neuromorphic computing.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Microscopy
Kirsty A. Paton, Matthew C. Veale, Xiaoke Mu, Christopher S. Allen, Dzmitry Maneuski, Christian Kuebel, Val O'Shea, Angus I. Kirkland, Damien McGrouther
Summary: The study compared the performance of hybrid pixel detectors using different sensor materials, finding that the GaAs:Cr sensor outperformed the Si sensor for high-energy electrons.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Gary W. Paterson, Gavin M. Macauley, Stephen McVitie, Yoshihiko Togawa
Summary: In the first part of this work, we introduce the TEM-DPC technique for quantifying phase gradients of samples with structural contrast, compared to the TIE method. The TEM-DPC technique is particularly suitable for in situ studies and complements the TIE method due to its ability to handle structural contrast.
MICROSCOPY AND MICROANALYSIS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Henry He, John E. Halpin, Srinivas R. Popuri, Luke Daly, Jan-Willem G. Bos, Michael P. Moody, Donald A. MacLaren, Paul A. J. Bagot
Summary: Cu-doping and crystallographic site occupations in the thermoelectric material TiNiSn were examined using atom probe tomography, revealing the impact of analysis conditions on measured chemical composition. High laser energies were found to result in inaccuracies in composition measurements, possibly due to nonideal evaporation behavior. Suggestions for optimizing analysis conditions for similar thermoelectric materials were provided.
MICROSCOPY AND MICROANALYSIS
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Milan Adelt, Donald A. MacLaren, David J. S. Birch, Yu Chen
Summary: The study reveals three types of anisotropic coating of gold nanorods with silica, with the growth conditions influencing the formation and structure of silica shells. Optimized parameters and appropriate GNR aspect ratio significantly improve the growth yield of dumbbell-like GNRs.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Thomas Cadenbach, Maria J. Benitez, Sofia Andrade Tirado, Valeria Ochoa-Herrera, Alexis Debut, Karla Vizuete
Summary: BiFeO3 nanomaterials have attracted much interest as effective visible-light photocatalysts for water splitting and organic pollutant degradation due to their narrow band gap energies. The use of GdxBi1-xFeO3@SBA-15 nanocomposites can achieve high removal efficiency of the organic dye Rhodamine B, with the 10 vol% Gd0.05Bi0.95FeO3@SBA-15 sample showing the best performance. The synergistic adsorption enhanced photocatalytic degradation process contributes to the superior efficiencies of the nanocomposites over their parent compounds.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Clement G. A. Morisse, Annelouise M. McCullagh, James W. Campbell, Colin How, Donald A. MacLaren, Robert H. Carr, Chris J. Mitchell, David Lennon
Summary: A study on Pd/Al2O3 catalysts for aniline production via nitrobenzene hydrogenation shows that the low loading catalyst is more suitable for enhancing aniline selectivity and avoiding the formation of overhydrogenated products. This is indicated by a volcano-like curve in aniline yield plotted against reaction conditions.
INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Alison Cowan, Kevin McNeill, Muhammad Bilal Janjua, Stephen McVitie
Summary: The study investigated the impact of ultra-thin Ni79Fe21 seed layers on the physical and magnetic behavior of Ni45Fe55 films. The addition of seed layers reduced grain size, improved film texture, and enhanced magnetic properties. The use of magnetic microscopy allowed for precise characterization of the material's magnetic structure.
JOURNAL OF MAGNETISM AND MAGNETIC MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Claire Donnelly, Aurelio Hierro-Rodriguez, Claas Abert, Katharina Witte, Luka Skoric, Dedalo Sanz-Hernandez, Simone Finizio, Fanfan Meng, Stephen McVitie, Jorg Raabe, Dieter Suess, Russell Cowburn, Amalio Fernandez-Pacheco
Summary: The design of complex magnetic systems through nonlinear interactions or three-dimensional geometries can achieve new functionalities by controlling intrastructure properties and magnetostatic coupling of neighboring magnetic structures. This can lead to new physics and functionalities, such as three-dimensional chiral spin states and spin textures with new spin topologies.
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
David Giancarlo Garcia, Cristina Garzon-Romero, Mateo Alejandro Salazar, Karina J. Lagos, Kleber Orlando Campana, Alexis Debut, Karla Vizuete, Miryan Rosita Rivera, Dario Niebieskikwiat, Maria J. Benitez, Maria Paulina Romero
Summary: This study presents a quick and easy green synthesis method using waste orange peel extract as a reducing, capping, and stabilizing agent to prepare magnetic nanoparticles based on iron oxides (MNPs-Fe). The 50GS-MNPs-Fe sample showed an excellent mass yield and a particle size of about 50 nm with an organic coating.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Frederic Rendell-Bhatti, Ming Zeng, Pol Lloveras, Josep-Lluis Tamarit, Maria Barrio, Eamonn T. Connolly, Donald A. MacLaren, Freya Johnson, Lesley F. Cohen, David Boldrin
Summary: The magnetically frustrated manganese nitride antiperovskite family shows significant entropy changes under changes in hydrostatic pressure near a first-order antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase transition, which can be utilized in solid-state barocaloric cooling. Previous studies have shown that the transition hysteresis significantly reduces the reversible barocaloric effects. In this study, we demonstrate that the transition hysteresis can be tailored through quaternary alloying in the Mn3Cu1-xSnxN system.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS-ENERGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
John E. Halpin, Benjamin Jenkins, Michael P. Moody, Robert W. H. Webster, Jan-Willem G. Bos, Paul A. J. Bagot, Donald A. MacLaren
Summary: The performance of thermoelectric materials is influenced by both atomic-scale chemistry and microstructural details such as grain boundaries. This study used atom-probe tomography (APT) and electron microscopies and spectroscopies to examine the elemental distribution in a TiNiCu0.1Sn thermoelectric material. The research identified two types of grain boundaries, one rough and meandering and the other regular and geometric. Cu dopant was found to segregate at both types of grain boundaries, with the rough boundaries also decorated with oxide impurity precipitates. APT revealed that Cu exists as discrete, elongated nanoprecipitates cosegregating with larger substoichiometric titanium oxide precipitates in the rough grain boundaries. These findings highlight the importance of understanding localized chemistry variations, particularly at grain boundaries, in influencing material functionality.
ACS APPLIED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Shaoliang Guan, Giovanni E. Rossi, John M. Winfield, Claire Wilson, Donald MacLaren, David J. Morgan, Philip R. Davies, David J. Willock, David Lennon
Summary: The study reveals that a CuCl2 catalyst pre-treated with chlorine can produce phosgene at high temperatures. Through a series of experiments, the nature of the catalyst at different stages was determined, and a pictorial reaction scheme was proposed to explain the observed surface chemistry.
FARADAY DISCUSSIONS
(2021)
Article
Microscopy
C. Gao, C. Hofer, T. J. Pennycook
Summary: Ptychography provides high dose efficiency images that can reveal light elements next to heavy atoms. However, contrast reversals can occur when the projected potential becomes strong. Recent research has shown that these reversals can be counteracted by adapting the focus. This study explains why the best contrast is often found with the probe focused to the middle of the sample and highlights the importance of convergence angle in thin samples to remove contrast reversals.
Article
Microscopy
J. Lindner, U. Ross, T. Meyer, V. Boureau, M. Seibt, Ch. Jooss
Summary: Phase-shifting electron holography is an excellent method with high phase sensitivity to reveal electron wave phase information. An advanced drift correction scheme is proposed in this study, which exploits the interface of the TEM specimen and the vacuum area in the hologram. This method allows for obtaining reliable phase information.
Article
Microscopy
Ali Jaberi, Nicolas Brodusch, Jun Song, Raynald Gauvin
Summary: This study investigates knock-on damage in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) by computing threshold displacement energies (TDEs) and performing Monte Carlo simulation. The results indicate that Li is most sensitive to knock-on damage at moderate electron energies, and TDE is the principal parameter for assessing Li sensitivity to knock-on damage across similar structures.
Article
Microscopy
Alexander Schroeder, Christopher Rathje, Leon van Velzen, Maurits Kelder, Sascha Schaefer
Summary: This study utilizes novel event-based electron detector platforms to extend the temporal resolution of electron microscopy. By training a neural network to predict electron arrival time, the researchers were able to improve the timing accuracy and achieve a promising solution for enhancing electron timing precision in various electron microscopy applications.
Article
Microscopy
Avi Auslender, Nivedita Pandey, Amit Kohn, Oswaldo Dieguez
Summary: This article describes a faster implementation based on DFT for computing the mean inner potential of crystals, providing quantum-mechanical calculations beyond the independent-atom approximation. The study also reveals the dependence of the mean inner potential on sample boundary conditions, mass density, and magnetic susceptibility, highlighting its correlation with various material properties.
Article
Microscopy
Zhidong Yang, Dawei Zang, Hongjia Li, Zhao Zhang, Fa Zhang, Renmin Han
Summary: In this work, we propose a self-supervised deep learning model for cryo-ET volumetric image denoising based on noise modeling and sparsity guidance. Experimental results demonstrate that our method can achieve reliable denoising by training on single noisy volume and outperform existing methods.
Article
Microscopy
J. Kuttruff, J. Holder, Y. Meng, P. Baum
Summary: In this study, a robust clustering algorithm is proposed that can find clusters in a continuous stream of raw data in real time. This algorithm converts pixel hits measured by hybrid pixel detectors to real single-electron events. By continuously comparing with previous hits, the algorithm efficiently identifies the merging of new and old events.
Article
Microscopy
D. G. Senturk, C. P. Yu, A. De Backer, S. Van Aert
Summary: This article presents a statistics-based method for accurately counting the number of atoms in nanostructures, especially for images acquired with low electron doses and multiple element structures.
Article
Microscopy
Mauricio J. Prieto, Lucas de Souza Caldas, Liviu C. Tanase, Thomas Schmidt, Oscar Rodriguez de la Fuente
Summary: This study presents a synchrotron-based investigation of the synthesis process of a magnetite/hematite bilayer. Ion bombardment gradually transforms hematite into magnetite, and the growth of magnetite leads to the formation of stable boundaries. These findings are significant for understanding novel oxide heterostructures.
Article
Microscopy
Emre Yoruk, Holger Klein, Stephanie Kodjikian
Summary: Beam sensitive nanomaterials pose challenges for crystallographic structure determination. A dose symmetric electron diffraction tomography (DS-EDT) method is developed to reduce beam damage and obtain complete data sets by merging individual datasets from multiple crystals.
Article
Microscopy
A. Pofelski, Y. Zhu, G. A. Botton
Summary: The precision and sensitivity of the GPA method for strain characterization is a widely discussed topic. This study introduces the concept of phase noise and analyzes the parameter of sampling to improve the precision of GPA. Experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that using a larger pixel spacing in STEM can enhance the precision and sensitivity of the GPA method.
Article
Microscopy
Sangjun Kang, Di Wang, Christian Kuebel, Xiaoke Mu
Summary: Transmission electron microscopy is a valuable tool for assessing strain fields within materials. However, using thin specimens in TEM analysis can affect atomic configuration and deformation structure.
