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Single Atom Microscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 November 2012

Wu Zhou ,
Mark P. Oxley ,
Andrew R. Lupini ,
Ondrej L. Krivanek ,
Stephen J. Pennycook  and
Juan-Carlos Idrobo
Wu Zhou*
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
Mark P. Oxley
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
Andrew R. Lupini
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
Ondrej L. Krivanek
Affiliation:
Nion Co., 1102 8th St., Kirkland, WA 98033, USA
Stephen J. Pennycook
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
Juan-Carlos Idrobo*
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: wu.zhou@vanderbilt.edu
**Corresponding author. E-mail: idrobojc@ornl.gov
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Abstract

We show that aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy operating at low accelerating voltages is able to analyze, simultaneously and with single atom resolution and sensitivity, the local atomic configuration, chemical identities, and optical response at point defect sites in monolayer graphene. Sequential fast-scan annular dark-field (ADF) imaging provides direct visualization of point defect diffusion within the graphene lattice, with all atoms clearly resolved and identified via quantitative image analysis. Summing multiple ADF frames of stationary defects produce images with minimized statistical noise and reduced distortions of atomic positions. Electron energy-loss spectrum imaging of single atoms allows the delocalization of inelastic scattering to be quantified, and full quantum mechanical calculations are able to describe the delocalization effect with good accuracy. These capabilities open new opportunities to probe the defect structure, defect dynamics, and local optical properties in 2D materials with single atom sensitivity.

Keywords

aberration correctedSTEMADF imagingEELSspectrum imagingdelocalizationplasmonsoptical responsesingle atomdefectgrapheme
Type
Materials Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 18 , Issue 6 , December 2012 , pp. 1342 - 1354
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2012

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