Non-rigid registration to determine strain fields during mouse brain fixation and embedding

Smith has shown by dark-field electron microscopy of extracted ThO2 particles from TD-nickel (2% ThO2) that they possess single crystal characteristics. It is generally assumed that these particle dispersions are incoherent. However, some diffraction effects associated with the particle images appeared to be similar to coherency strain fields. The present work will demonstrate conclusively that ThO2 dispersed particles in TD-nickel (2% ThO2) and TD-NiCr (2% ThO2, 20% Cr, Ni) are single crystals. Moreover, the diffraction contrast effects are extinction fringes. That is, these effects arise because of the particle orientation with respect to the electron beam and the extinction conditions for various operating reflections The particles are in fact incoherent.

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Effect of strain on ADF-STEM high-resolution images

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100087641 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 49 ◽

pp. 666-667

Author(s):

M. Kelly ◽

D.M. Bird

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Strong Influence ◽

Intensity Variation ◽

Dark Field ◽

Atomic Resolution ◽

Strain Fields ◽

High Resolution Image ◽

Annular Dark Field ◽

High Resolution Images ◽

Interesting Alternative

It is well known that strain fields can have a strong influence on the details of HREM images. This, for example, can cause problems in the analysis of edge-on interfaces between lattice mismatched materials. An interesting alternative to conventional HREM imaging has recently been advanced by Pennycook and co-workers where the intensity variation in the annular dark field (ADF) detector is monitored as a STEM probe is scanned across the specimen. It is believed that the observed atomic-resolution contrast is correlated with the intensity of the STEM probe at the atomic sites and the way in which this varies as the probe moves from cell to cell. As well as providing a directly interpretable high-resolution image, there are reasons for believing that ADF-STEM images may be less suseptible to strain than conventional HREM. This is because HREM images arise from the interference of several diffracted beams, each of which is governed by all the excited Bloch waves in the crystal.

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Analysis of 2D and 3D defects associated with precipitation of Cu in silicon

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010008866x ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 49 ◽

pp. 870-871

Author(s):

P.M. Rice ◽

MJ. Kim ◽

R.W. Carpenter

Keyword(s):

Colony Growth ◽

Dark Field ◽

Dark Side ◽

Silicide Phase ◽

Strain Fields ◽

Near Surface ◽

Unknown Composition ◽

Secondary Precipitates ◽

20 Nm ◽

2D And 3D

Extrinsic gettering of Cu on near-surface dislocations in Si has been the topic of recent investigation. It was shown that the Cu precipitated hetergeneously on dislocations as Cu silicide along with voids, and also with a secondary planar precipitate of unknown composition. Here we report the results of investigations of the sense of the strain fields about the large (~100 nm) silicide precipitates, and further analysis of the small (~10-20 nm) planar precipitates.Numerous dark field images were analyzed in accordance with Ashby and Brown's criteria for determining the sense of the strain fields about precipitates. While the situation is complicated by the presence of dislocations and secondary precipitates, micrographs like those shown in Fig. 1(a) and 1(b) tend to show anomalously wide strain fields with the dark side on the side of negative g, indicating the strain fields about the silicide precipitates are vacancy in nature. This is in conflict with information reported on the η'' phase (the Cu silicide phase presumed to precipitate within the bulk) whose interstitial strain field is considered responsible for the interstitial Si atoms which cause the bounding dislocation to expand during star colony growth.

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