• Applied Microscopy
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• v.51
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• pp.19.1-19.7
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• 2021

The main purpose of this paper is the preparation of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) samples from the microsized powders of lithium-ion secondary batteries. To avoid artefacts during TEM sample preparation, the use of ion slicer milling for thinning and maintaining the intrinsic structure is described. Argon-ion milling techniques have been widely examined to make optimal specimens, thereby making TEM analysis more reliable. In the past few years, the correction of spherical aberration (Cs) in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) has been developing rapidly, which results in direct observation at an atomic level resolution not only at a high acceleration voltage but also at a deaccelerated voltage. In particular, low-kV application has markedly increased, which requires a sufficiently transparent specimen without structural distortion during the sample preparation process. In this study, sample preparation for high-resolution STEM observation is accomplished, and investigations on the crystal integrity are carried out by Cs-corrected STEM.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2015

We have developed a new HD-2700 (Hitachi High-Technologies Corp., Japan) scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) that includes an automatic aberration correction function, and a large-solid-angle energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy detector that enables high-resolution and sensitive analysis. For observation with atomic resolution, using spherical-aberration-corrected STEM, in order that satisfactory performance of the device can be achieved readily, and within a short time, irrespective of the operator's skill level, a spherical-aberration-correction device with an automatic aberration-correction function was developed. This automatic aberration-correction function carries out the entire correction-related process (aberration measurement, selection and correction) automatically, with automatic selection of the aberrations that require correction, and automatic measurement of the appropriate corrections.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.225-229
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• 2015

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are a class of two-dimensional (2D) materials that have attracted growing interest because of their promising applications. The properties of TMDs strongly depend on the crystalline structure and the number and stacking sequence of layers in their crystals and thin films. Though electrical, mechanical, and magnetic studies of 2D materials are being conducted, there is an evident lack of direct atom-by-atom visualization, limiting insight on these highly exciting material systems. Herein, we present our recent studies on the characterization of 2D layered materials by means of aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), in particular via high angle annular dark field (HAADF) imaging. We have identified the atomic arrangements and defects in 2H stacked TMDs, 1T stacked TMDs, distorted 1T stacked TMDs, and vertically integrated heterojunctions of 2D TMDs crystals.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.107-107
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• 2012

Recently, large-area synthesis of high-quality but polycrystalline graphene has been advanced as a scalable route to applications including electronic devices. The presence of grain boundaries (GBs) may be detrimental on some electronic, thermal, and mechanical properties of graphene, including reduced electronic mobility, lower thermal conductivity, and reduced ultimate mechanical strength, yet on the other hand, GBs might be beneficially exploited via controlled GB engineering. The study of graphene grains and their boundary is therefore critical for a complete understanding of this interesting material and for enabling diverse applications. I present that scanning electron diffraction in STEM mode makes possible fast and direct identification of GBs. We also demonstrate that dark field TEM imaging techniques allow facile GB imaging for high-angle tilt GBs in graphene. GB mapping is systematically carried out on large-area graphene samples via these complementary techniques. The study of the detailed atomic structure at a GB in suspended graphene uses aberration-corrected atomic resolution TEM at a low kV.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.164-173
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• 2012

The relaxor ferroelectric feature in lead-free perovskite oxides, where the dipoles are randomly oriented and they can be feasibly aligned parallel to the external bias, is attracting lots of attention in the field of piezoelectric materials science, since it is one of candidates to replace the toxic lead-based materials that are still being commercially used. However, the origin of relaxor characteristic and its related atomic structure are still ambiguous. In this study, $Na_{1/2}Bi_{1/2}TiO_3$, chosen as a model relaxor system, was found to exhibit a cationic-disordered atomic structure; and furthermore the nonpolar atomic structure and its related oxygen tilting were ascertained via annular bright field imaging skill. We also found that this cationic disordering gives rise to the local formation of atomic vacancies.