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Atomic resolution electron tomography

  • Advanced Tomography Techniques for Materials Applications
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Abstract

Over the last two decades, three-dimensional (3D) imaging by transmission electron microscopy or “electron tomography” has evolved into a powerful tool to investigate a variety of nanomaterials in different fields, such as life sciences, chemistry, solid-state physics, and materials science. Most of these results were obtained with nanometer-scale resolution, but different approaches have recently pushed the resolution to the atomic level. Such information is a prerequisite to understand the specific relationship between the atomic structure and the physicochemical properties of (nano)materials. We provide an overview of the latest progress in the field of atomic-resolution electron tomography. Different imaging and reconstruction approaches are presented, and state-of-the-art results are discussed. This article demonstrates the power and importance of electron tomography with atomic-scale resolution.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the Research Foundation Flanders (G.0381.16N, G.036915, G.0374.13, and funding of postdoctoral grants to B.G. and A.D.B.). S.B. acknowledges the European Research Council, ERC Grant Number 335078—Colouratom. The research leading to these results received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Program under Grant Agreements 312483 (ESTEEM2). The authors would like to thank the colleagues who have contributed to this work, including K.J. Batenburg, J. De Beenhouwer, R. Erni, M.D. Rossell, W. Van den Broek, L. Liz-Marzán, E. Carbó-Argibay, S. Gómez-Graña, P. Lievens, M. Van Bael, B. Partoens, B. Schoeters, and J. Sijbers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electron Microscopy for Materials Research Laboratory, University of Antwerp, Belgium

    Sara Bals, Bart Goris, Annick De Backer, Sandra Van Aert & Gustaaf Van Tendeloo

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  1. Sara Bals
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  2. Bart Goris
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  3. Annick De Backer
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  4. Sandra Van Aert
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  5. Gustaaf Van Tendeloo
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Correspondence to Sara Bals.

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Bals, S., Goris, B., De Backer, A. et al. Atomic resolution electron tomography. MRS Bulletin 41, 525–530 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2016.138

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