Transmission electron microscopy thin films

Morphology of select star blocks was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Films were cast from toluene and annealed for 2 days at 120 °C. Ultra thin sections (-50 nm) of unstained samples were cut by cryogenic microtome techniques. Samples were viewed by a JOEL (JEM-1200EXII) TEM. 

M. Natan, S.W. Duncan. Microstructure and growth kinetics of CrSi2 on Si 100 studied using cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy // Thin Solid Films. -1985.-V.123, No.l.-P.69-85. 

Figure 5.40. Transmission electron microscopy thin section of phosphotungstic acid stained cryosections of an as extruded (A) and deep drawn (B) coextruded film constructed of toughened nylon/barrier resin/tough-ened nylon. (From Wood [186] used with permission of the American Chemical Society Rubber Division.)...

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can resolve features down to about 1 nm and allows the use of electron diffraction to characterize the structure. Since electrons must pass through the sample however, the technique is limited to thin films. One cryoelectron microscopic study of fatty-acid Langmuir films on vitrified water [13] showed faceted crystals. The application of TEM to Langmuir-Blodgett films is discussed in Chapter XV. 

Figure 6 High-resolution transmission electron microscopy image of an epitaxial thin film of Y Ba2Cu307 j, grown on LaAI03, shown in cross section. (Courtesy of T. E. MKchell, Los Alamos National Laboratory)...

Alternatives to XRD include transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and diffraction, Low-Energy and Reflection High-Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED and RHEED), extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS), and neutron diffraction. LEED and RHEED are limited to surfaces and do not probe the bulk of thin films. The elemental sensitivity in neutron diffraction is quite different from XRD, but neutron sources are much weaker than X-ray sources. Neutrons are, however, sensitive to magnetic moments. If adequately large specimens are available, neutron diffraction is a good alternative for low-Z materials and for materials where the magnetic structure is of interest. 

Khmenkov M, Nepijko S, Kuhlenbeck H, Baiimer M, Schldgl R, Ereund H-J. 1997. The structure of Pt-aggregates on a supported thin aluminum oxide film in comparison with unsupported alumina a transmission electron microscopy study. Surf Sci 391 27-36. 

Roskov KE, Epps TH, Berry BC, Hudson SD, Tureau MS, Fasolka MJ (2008) Preparation of combinatorial arrays of polymer thin films for transmission electron microscopy analysis. J Comb Chem 10 966-973... 

In transmission electron microscopy (TEM), a beam of highly focused and highly energetic electrons is directed toward a thin sample (< 200 nm) which might be prepared from solution as thin film (often cast on water) or by cryocutting of a solid sample. The incident electrons interact with the atoms in the sample, producing characteristic radiation. Information is obtained from both deflected and nondeflected transmitted electrons, backscattered and secondary electrons, and emitted photons. 

Fig. 2. Nacre of red abalone shell Halitotis refescens), imaged here by transmission electron microscopy (left), has a bricks-and-mortar structure. The bricks are CaCOs (aragonite) platelets, and the mortar is a composite of macromolecules, including structural proteins and polysaccharides, that form a thin film around the platelets. The three-dimensional structure is depicted on the right [23]...

Thin epitaxial films (less than 3 nm) of CrAs and CrSb with zinc-blende structure can be grown on GaAs substrates by MBE. Their 7c exceeds 400 K (Akinaga et al. 2000c Zhao et al. 2001b). A zinc-blende structure is confirmed by in-situ RHEED collected during the growth and ex-situ cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The... 

Extremely thin, self-supporting film electrodes have been successfully produced. For example, polypyrrole films of 120 nm thickness have been used successfully to grow microcrystallites, followed by removal of the film plus crystallites from the substrate for characterization of the crystallographic structure and orientation of the microcrystallites by transmission electron microscopy with selected area electron diffraction [23]. Thin-film electrodes have been applied to allow transmission of high-energy beams, including x-rays, for in situ... 

The microstructure of several of these thin films was studied extensively, using Transmission Electron Microscopy (T.E.M.). These T.E.M. observations together with X-ray Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy (E.D.S.) as well as usual X-ray spectra show that the films are highly homogeneous and have essentially a single YBCO (123) phase. 

The adsorption of albumin from aqueous solution onto copper and nickel films and the adsorption of B-lactoglobulin, gum arabic, and alginic acid onto germanium were studied. Thin metallic films (3-4 nm) were deposited onto germanium internal reflection elements by physical vapor deposition. Transmission electron microscopy studies indicated that the deposits were full density. Substrate temperature strongly Influenced the surface structure of the metal deposits. Protein and/or polysaccharide were adsorbed onto the solid substrates from flowing... 

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