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    Optimal principal component analysis of stem xeds spectrum images
    (Heidelberg : Springer Verlag, 2019) Potapov, P.; Lubk, A.
    STEM XEDS spectrum images can be drastically denoised by application of the principal component analysis (PCA). This paper looks inside the PCA workflow step by step on an example of a complex semiconductor structure consisting of a number of different phases. Typical problems distorting the principal components decomposition are highlighted and solutions for the successful PCA are described. Particular attention is paid to the optimal truncation of principal components in the course of reconstructing denoised data. A novel accurate and robust method, which overperforms the existing truncation methods is suggested for the first time and described in details.
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    Studying dynamic processes of nano-sized objects in liquid using scanning transmission electron microscopy
    (Cambridge : JoVE, 2017) de Jong, Niels; Hermannsdörfer, Justus
    Samples fully embedded in liquid can be studied at a nanoscale spatial resolution with Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) using a microfluidic chamber assembled in the specimen holder for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and STEM. The microfluidic system consists of two silicon microchips supporting thin Silicon Nitride (SiN) membrane windows. This article describes the basic steps of sample loading and data acquisition. Most important of all is to ensure that the liquid compartment is correctly assembled, thus providing a thin liquid layer and a vacuum seal. This protocol also includes a number of tests necessary to perform during sample loading in order to ensure correct assembly. Once the sample is loaded in the electron microscope, the liquid thickness needs to be measured. Incorrect assembly may result in a too-thick liquid, while a too-thin liquid may indicate the absence of liquid, such as when a bubble is formed. Finally, the protocol explains how images are taken and how dynamic processes can be studied. A sample containing AuNPs is imaged both in pure water and in saline.
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    Antiphase Boundaries Constitute Fast Cation Diffusion Paths in SrTiO3 Memristive Devices
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2020) Heisig, Thomas; Kler, Joe; Du, Hongchu; Baeumer, Christoph; Hensling, Felix; Glöß, Maria; Moors, Marco; Locatelli, Andrea; Menteş, Tevfik Onur; Genuzio, Francesca; Mayer, Joachim; De Souza, Roger A.; Dittmann, Regina
    Resistive switching in transition metal oxide-based metal-insulator-metal structures relies on the reversible drift of ions under an applied electric field on the nanoscale. In such structures, the formation of conductive filaments is believed to be induced by the electric-field driven migration of oxygen anions, while the cation sublattice is often considered to be inactive. This simple mechanistic picture of the switching process is incomplete as both oxygen anions and metal cations have been previously identified as mobile species under device operation. Here, spectromicroscopic techniques combined with atomistic simulations to elucidate the diffusion and drift processes that take place in the resistive switching model material SrTiO3 are used. It is demonstrated that the conductive filament in epitaxial SrTiO3 devices is not homogenous but exhibits a complex microstructure. Specifically, the filament consists of a conductive Ti3+-rich region and insulating Sr-rich islands. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the Sr-rich islands emerge above Ruddlesden–Popper type antiphase boundaries. The role of these extended defects is clarified by molecular static and molecular dynamic simulations, which reveal that the Ruddlesden–Popper antiphase boundaries constitute diffusion fast-paths for Sr cations in the perovskites structure. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH GmbH