A method for STEM-EDX tomography of nanocomposites with close-atomic-number crystalline phases
Discuss this preprint
Start a discussion What are Sciety discussions?Listed in
This article is not in any list yet, why not save it to one of your lists.Abstract
A scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM)-based energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) tomography method is developed for accurate three-dimensional (3-D) visualization of nanoscale composite microstructures. This approach overcomes the limitations of conventional STEM tomography for microstructures containing crystalline phases with minimal difference in atomic numbers. The STEM-EDS tomography method was utilized to generate reliable 3-D reconstructions of nano-fibrous Silicon (average diameter ≈ 30 nm) uniformly embedded in Aluminum matrix – a morphology previously ambiguous in two-dimensional microstructural characterization. Further validation has been done by local atom probe tomography reconstruction.
