Atomic resolution electron microscopy in a magnetic field free environment.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31127111.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-019-10281-2 and PMC identifier 6534592.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Atomic-resolution electron microscopes utilize high-power magnetic lenses to produce magnified images of the atomic details of matter. Doing so involves placing samples inside the magnetic objective lens, where magnetic fields of up to a few tesla are always exerted. This can largely alter, or even destroy, the magnetic and physical structures of interest. Here, we describe a newly developed magnetic objective lens system that realizes a magnetic field free environment at the sample position. Combined with a higher-order aberration corrector, we achieve direct, atom-resolved imaging with sub-Å spatial resolution with a residual magnetic field of less than 0.2 mT at the sample position. This capability enables direct atom-resolved imaging of magnetic materials such as silicon steels. Removing the need to subject samples to high magnetic field environments enables a new stage in atomic resolution electron microscopy that realizes direct, atomic-level observation of samples without unwanted high magnetic field effects.